Even hosts fall in love
by SapphireStormAngel
Summary: Once again it's time for Total Drama Island. A new group of contestants and a new island. Will the host of this crazy show enjoy the pain he can bring on these poor souls, or will a new medic for the reality show catch not only his eye but also his heart?
1. Chapter 1 - The Arrival

The air whooshed through the small gaps on the big metal blimp, making eerie sounds within the bare, cold compartment. Shivers went through the body of a young girl despite the fact that she was cuddled up into the seemingly warmest section of the compartment. She would have gladly accepted a blanket at that particular moment, but unfortunately except for the collection of different sized crates scattered all around the place.

Several people could be seen sitting around the compartment in a similar fashion to the woman, however none of them made a move to talk to the others. The woman could feel an awkward atmosphere in the air but considering her naturally shy personality she decided that it would be much easier to just sit there for now and wait for the situation to resolve itself. Any friends and family that she did posses were more outgoing, and they had been the ones to approach her first and not the other way around. Her fears were only multiplied by the fact that the people surrounding her were some of the strangest people she had seen in her entire life.

To her right sat a boy dressed in a green wizard costume, complete with a wand and even the spells that he was either muttering under his breath or reading out from a little notebook in his hands. Next to him sat a pretty young girl. She almost seemed normal, but the bright pink dress and bow in her hair made her looks like some kind of weird version of snow white. She seemed friendly enough but she could not seem to stop singing which clearly annoyed many of the other passengers. Another curious case was of the big man with an afro, who still hadn't uttered a single word since he entered the plane. What did come out of him were various sounds including sirens, animals, and other things you would only expect to hear on a DJ machine and not from a living breathing human. These were the weirdest of the bunch though, although several of the other people did seem to have funny quirks despite their normal looking appearance. Some good examples of this could be the almost identical twins who for some strange reason insisted on constantly swapping seats, or a young boy in a hat who was cuddled into a corned constantly muttering something about how zombies will eat his brain.  
Overall it seemed like the staff of Total Drama Island had picked a diverse group of people for this season, which made her wonder for a minute as to what challenges the host would think of this year. He certainly seemed enthusiastic enough on the promo tour, which made her quite worried for the others. Then again they had signed up for this in the first place, and 1 million dollars was a big prize to win for just any normal show. She supposed that the funny quirks of the campers were chosen for purpose. Watching the first few seasons over the years she noted that it was the interactions between the campers themselves that made the show interesting although seeing them completely fail was also pretty hilarious to watch on national television.

"Hey, are you ok? You look slightly freaked out."

Surprise flitted through her eyes at the sudden voice, forcing her to turn to see whether it really was her he was speaking to. Her eyes rested on a handsome boy around her age with a smile on his face, and deep green eyes that seemed to have the slightest concern directed at her. His blonde hair was slicked back with a certainly large amount of gel, but she had to admit that it looked good on him. To be truthful she didn't quite expect someone seemingly so normal on a show like this.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just not used to meeting new people in such large groups. Thank you for asking though."

"You're welcome, and besides meeting new people isn't that scary. You already know me so you're not alone when you have to meet the others, aren't you? My name is Topher, what about you?"

"My name is Melody, it's nice to meet you."  
"You too. Are you here to participate for the million dollars as well?"  
"No actually. I applied to the producers for the job of being a medic on the island since I needed a job for the summer, and because it would be a good experience for me."

"Do you want to be a doctor then?"

"Yeah. Ever since I was little I always wanted to make people feel better and to help them. What about you?"

"I want to be a host like Chris McLean, the host of Total Drama Island. He's the best host out there so I'm not only here to win the million but also to learn a bit about hosting from him. I mean I've clearly got the looks, but it's all about the technique as well. Do you think he would let me co-host the season with him?"

"I don't know. You should ask him though, at least then you know that you tried."

He was about to answer when the blimp gave a sudden shudder and gave a lurch to one side. Chest and people were flung to the side causing a flurry of raised voices. Topher's arms wrapped around Melody and held her close to prevent her flying through the air like the other people in the room. She gave him a grateful look but quickly tightened her grip on his arms when the voice of the pilot rose above the clamour.

"Hang on! This might get hairy!"

The blimp straightened out slightly, but the rain still pounded thunderously on the metal coating of the room. Lightning flashed and before their eyes a single figure of a man appeared in the once empty space. He looked to be in his thirties with coal black eyes and just as dark hair. This had to be the famous Chris mcLean that Topher was just telling her about, which explained his fascination. The man certainly knew how to make an entrance. He was clearly taller than her but that didn't come as much of a surprise. With her 5'5" stature, the only person that was smaller than her was the small purple haired boy that spent the journey glaring at everyone.

"Hello newbies. Ready for some fun?"

His question seemed rhetorical, but that didn't stop Topher and 'Snow White' from running up to him in excitement and shouting yes at the top of their lungs. Despite their reactions that smirk never left his face and it made melody grow worried about what was to come. From the previous seasons she learned that Chris liked to torture the campers even before the show started, and the fact that she was currently sitting with his chosen victims didn't make her feel any better, especially since they were traveling thousands of feet off the ground in a flimsy blimp that looked ready to fall apart at any moment.

"Huh, a couple of keeners. I'm sure that a little pain and starvation will fix that. Let's get started."

That foreboding comment quickly quieted down the excitement and complaints, and everyone was instead focused on his ever present smirk. Melody hoped that he would go easier on her since she was the medic and not a contestant but her hopes seemed slim to none. Noting that he now had the attention of the entire compartment, Chris walked smugly towards the big metal doors to his left.

"This aircraft stinks and is only equipped with two emergency exits. Here," he said pointing at the door behind him " and at the end of the cabin. At said exits you will find parachute packs. Only half of them contain actual parachutes. The other half of them contain surprises that will be utterly useless while falling from the sky."

There was a clear reason why he was telling us this, and it made Melody all the more frightened of what will happen soon enough. She watched as his gaze scrolled through the people present, stopping on her eyes for a second before continuing. He seemed to be baiting the campers into taking the bait, and unfortunately for them he didn't have to wait especially long to get one.

"Well hopefully we won't need them."

The person who took the bait turned out to be one of the normal looking girls, with shoulder length black hair and tribal looking feather earrings. Melody almost groaned at her stupidity but held it in as not to offend her before they even had a chance to meet. Chris seemed to have noticed her grimace though and his smirk only widened at the sight. Both of them knew that the girl had played right into his hands.

"Who knows. This season is full of surprises, like this."

From his pocket he took out a small remote before pressing the only button that was located on it, creating an explosion at the side of the blimp. The blimp started losing altitude and began falling to the ground, which only caused panic within it. Even the pilot abandoned his post to find a parachute, turning out to be the infamous Chef Hatchet, Chris's accomplice though she doubted that he knew about this turnout of events. It seemed that the only one who wasn't panicking was Chris himself which was weird as he was on the blimp as well, but at that moment she didn't exactly have the time to worry about that. The panicking campers and Chef grabbed the parachutes like crazy, even pushing out some of the others outside the now open exit doors in their hurry. Melody followed their lead and jumped out of the aircraft with a parachute on her back. She vaguely noticed Topher still in the blimp with two parachutes but he seemed to know what he was doing so she just left him alone.

As she was falling she noticed that people were starting to already pull their parachutes. the lucky ones managed to get one, however like Chris said, some of them got completely useless objects. Afro boy had live chickens in his backpack instead of parachute, which didn't seem to worry him at all since he just imitated their sounds. A chubby blonde girl had trophies and tiaras in her backpack which she seemed perfectly happy with despite her situation, while the boy obsessed with zombies had hot dogs in his. Hoping for the best, Melody pulled her shoot happily discovering that she did in fact have a parachute and that she wasn't going to fall to her death. Sighing in relief she relaxed, only now noticing the rescue missions that the others were ensuing. A tall african girl managed to grab zombie boy and the wizard slowing down their fall with her parachute. Following her advice Melody grabbed onto the closest falling person next to her, which just so happened to be the girl that started all of this. Her face seemed extremely grateful for her actions.

"Hey thanks for that."

"It's ok."

"What's your name? Mines Sky."

"Oh I'm Melody. It's nice to meet you."

The conversation was cut short when the ground got closer and we all fell onto the soft sands of a beautiful beach. Fortunately for the others without parachutes, they managed to land in the water which would have softened the landing a lot. After everyone managed to pull themselves out, we all congregated around Chris who was miraculously standing on the beach instead falling onto it like the rest of us. He seemed to be giving weird looks to 'Snow White' who was flown down gently by birds out of all things, though he didn't seem to be the only one to consider it strange. Shaking his head he turned back to the clip sheet he held in his hand and started counting them.

"Huh only one missing. That's not bad."

A sudden thud behind us made everyone turned around where the small purple haired boy lay, cursing out a tree and saying evil every second word. Either he was just another contestant to make things interesting on this island or he had a particularly bad concussion. Melody however got the impression that unfortunately for the rest of the campers, it probably was the first, which meant that they would have to deal with him like this for the rest of the show. She was beginning to have doubts that it would really be ok like Topher said. Looking back at Chris she saw that devilish smirk on his face again, which only served to intensify the worried feeling. Yep. This season is definitely not going to be something that she would enjoy, and she was just the medic here.


	2. Chapter 2 - The First challenge

"Now then all those standing on my right are those with actual parachutes. Scarlett, Rodney, Jasmine, Max, Amy and Samey."

The first team consisted of a ginger, smart looking girl, Topher, a big ginger guy who seemed to be unable to talk to women, the tall african girl, the tiny purple haired boy, and the set of twins. They all stood to the right of Chris and Melody, as she had decided to stand with him closer to the middle of the two groups since she wasn't going to be put into any of them. Melody felt tension and worry as to whether she was standing in the right place, but a quick reassuring smile from Topher quickly calmed her down. One of the twins unsurely put her hand up as if scared to object.

"Um, it's Sammy."

"Amy says that everyone calls you Samey."

"Well yes but…"

"Cose you're the second twin. The lesser Amy if you will."

"But my real name is…"

"You're officially Samey!"

Melody frowned slightly at how Chris treated the poor girl but she wasn't surprised. She couldn't do anything since he was the host and his decision was the most important but that didn't mean that she liked it. If she had to guess, she would wager that the twin that spoke was the nicer one, it certainly seemed like it from her sisters permanently sour expression. Ignoring the miserable and shy look the girl had, Chris continued with the show, only intensifying melody's current dislike of him.

"Your team will be Pimâpotew Kinosewak which is Cree for the soaring eagles."

"Um no sorry, wrong. That means the floating salmon."

Melody almost laughed at the frustrated look on Chris's face at the improvement to his speech but she managed to stop herself in time. The situation was already awkward for her as it was and she would rather not turn the host against her on the very first day. It was so hard though. It must have been embarrassing for him to make mistake like that and be corrected by Sky one of the contestants!

"Oh, then I guess you're the floating salmon. Those without shoots Shawn, Leonard, Ella, Dave, Beardo, Sky and Sugar."

This team consisted of zombie boy, the wizard, 'Snow White', a boy who seemed to have OCD judging from the way he tried to get every speck of sand off him, afro guy, Sky, and the chubby girl that still had the tiara that she found during the fall on her head. Generally speaking, melody didn't like to pick sides but this team really did seem much weaker than the first one. Then again this was Total Drama Island where everything was possible, including mutated campers.

"Your team will be Waneyihtam Maskwak which in Cree means ferocious tige.."

"Confused bears?"

This time Melody couldn't stop the little giggle that escaped her mouth at Chris's furious facade. He glanced at her but instead of a glare she received a small amused smile, causing her to blush and look down in embarrassment. Luckily for her, no one except Chris seemed to notice anything which only saved her further embarrassment. Chris looked back down at the clipboard in his hands before breaking it and glaring at Chef.

"This is what you get for using a free internet translator."

"My bad."

He turned back to the campers, his expression telling everyone that already he was planning something that would eventually turn out painful for the campers.

"Anywho seeing as there is nowhere for you to sleep, tonight we've decided your first challenge should be to build your own shelter."

"Excuse me Chris?" Dave put his hand up.

"Yeah what is it meat bag?"

"You still have to tell us who the girl next to you is."

All eyes were suddenly directed at Melody who shied away at all the attention she was getting. She hid behind her fringe trying to make the situation a little less awkward then it currently was. Topher seemed to sense her uncomfort and was about to approach, but Chris beat him to it.

"This is Melody your new medic. According to the producers this season is much too dangerous and deadly to go through without a medic. If it was up to me, she wouldn't be here right now so you better make sure you're on her good side, since she can just leave you to die."

Surprise and shock flitted through her eyes as she looked at Chris. She didn't expect him to defend her judging from his character, in fact she was expecting him to make further fun of her. Although it did sound horrible in her ears, his words would make sure that none of the campers would get on her bad side, especially since everyone knew how high the possibility of being hurt was in this place. Another thing that caused her shock however was the fact that he wasn't considering hiring a medic in the first place, since the producers had to do it for him. No one was that cruel right?

Chris looked back at her and smiled slightly before returning to look at the campers. That single smile was enough to make Melody look back down at the ground with glowing cheeks. She was however quickly knocked out of her blissful thoughts when a small fart echoed through the beach seemingly coming from Sugar. She was defending herself at first but then her one sided conversation once again turned to pageants and queens, which truthfully speaking didn't seem to interest anybody but her.

"Hey fart monster, yeah I was talking."

Melody turned back to look at Chris but quickly noticed that he wasn't behind her anymore. In fact he happened to be perched on top of a pile of junk barely holding together. It didn't look particularly safe to be standing on but what most of her brain was trying to figure out, was how did he got up there so fast. The campers all walked towards him carefully through all the rubbish, while Topher walked up to her and gently squeezed her hand.

"See I told you it would be ok."

She smiled back at him again and eventually they let go of each other as they reached their specified destination. Looking back up at Chris she noticed slight anger on his face directed towards Topher but it only lasted a fraction of a second before his smirk appeared again. Melody pushed it out of her mind, preferring to concentrate on the challenge instead. She probably imagined it anyway.

"Each team may take supplies from the common area before they begin to build, but these supplies are guarded by Chef armed with a powerful tennis blaster."

To her shock he suddenly jumped off the pile and landed on the ground. She was ready to rush towards him to check for broken bones, but he stood up with ease almost as if he did this daily. The show must have had a big impact on him as well if he was that athletic.

"A glancing blow will sting."

"Ouch! That only hurt a little"

Before she could work out what he meant, Chef hit Dave directly in the head with a tennis ball making him cry out. She was about to go over to him with an ice pack but Chris stopped her with an arm around her shoulders, shaking his head with another smirk. The man really loved to hurt people, didn't he? Melody would be very surprised if all the campers didn't visit her at least once in the duration of the entire show. Dave himself looked ok from the place she was standing but was glancing hopefully at Sky. That by would get voted off for her for sure, it didn't even seem like even remembered the million dollars at this point.

"And a direct hit can take you to the ground."

This time Chef hit Max right in the crotch, causing him to fall over and Melody to wince. Yet again she was about help him up but Chris stopped her with another smirk, tightening his hold around her, without even a glancing. Melody blushed lightly but stopped struggling in his grip, she wouldn't be able to get out anyway.

"Will someone please help that little boy to his feet?"

Anyone could clearly hear the mocking tone in his voice. Rodney went to pick him up by the scruff of his neck, but then unceremoniously dropped him to the ground again. This time no one reached out to help, and Chris just gave up on it.

"Good enough. On with the challenge. Team Maskwak will build their shelter further inland. Team Kinosewak towards the beach. Best shelter according to me, wins the challenge."

The air horn in Chris's hands blew and the campers scattered. Melody was pulled along with Chris as he walked towards the small hill overlooking the rubbish, where Chef already stood with the tennis ball blaster. With his hand still around her shoulders they walked up to Chef who was clearly enjoying shooting all the contestants. Pausing for a moment, he gave Chris's hand a look then looked to Chris as is trying to convey thoughts but Chris just blanked him and kept looking at the campers, forcing Chef to carry on with his task with no answers. melody herself didn't know what was going in Chris's mind but for now she enjoyed the moment and decided to stay that way.

Shawn was the first to get past Chef and take something although it turned out only to be broccoli. Melody gave Chris a questioning look to figure out just why there was a can of broccoli in the rubbish tip but he just shrugged and looked the other way. The other team was doing much better with Rodney, Amy and Sammy managing to snag plenty of wood and a wheelbarrow, despite the fact that throughout the escapade, Amy was using her sister as a shield. She was sure that Sammy would have multiple bruises on her entire body, and made a mental note to make sure that she had plenty of ice packs and gel. Chef was having so much fun blasting her with tennis balls that eventually the machine broke from overuse. While Chef was glaring at it, Topher appeared on the hill with them sending melody a small smile. Chris brought her to him closer as soon as he saw the new visitor, but there was a smile on his face none the less.

"He He Hey Chris. You'll be throwing a commercial soon right?"

"Um, why do you ask Topher?"

"Well it's always been this dream of mine to watch you work live."

Melody's and Chef's eyes rolled at the comment but Chris only seemed more than happy to do as Topher wanted. letting go of her shoulders he walked up to the cameras, a massive grin on his face.

"Who am I to deny the dreams of such an intelligent young man. Pardon me a moment. Building supplies are being collected. Team Kinosewak is doing very 'wood' job but team Maskwak is looking kind of 'soupid'. You don't want to miss any of this on Total Drama Pahitew Island!"

"Bravo, encore, brilliant!"

"I like this kid."

Melody sighed as the two started chatting about hosting. With both of them together and talking, it would probably end up being a long and exhausting day.


	3. Chapter 3 - First Impressions

"We're back. The players are moving, chef is shooting, pick your favourite team and start a rooting."

Once again our eyes rolled at the terrible quality of Chris's jokes and Rhymes but Topher seemed to have a different point of view on the subject. Additionally Topher kept sending smiles and glance towards her to make her laugh, which Chriss seemed not to be very happy about. Suddenly he couldn't seem to get rid of Topher fast enough.

"Ha Ha Ha, so funny. I love it."

"Thank you, but now it's time to get you back into the action."

After that Chris happily pushed him into Chef who grabs him, and literally throws him back into the action, only "Ahhh" being heard from the boy that was now back with his team and getting shot at. The attention didn't stay on him for very long though as Ella started singing one of her songs to attract animals to help her out in the challenge. She gracefully avoided all the balls Chef blasted at her only to pick up a bucket of sparkling pink glitter, that was clearly useless in building a house. Despite her weird choice in building materials, Melody had to admit that she had a nice voice, though not everyone seemed to have the same opinion.

"Is she singing?"

"Yeah, and she sounds quite nice."

She stood up for Ella, but Chris's incredulous face stopped her from carrying on and sent her back into her shy and embarrassed shell. Beardo was soon on the scene following Dave, but for some strange reason he seemed to be running in slow motion, making himself a clear target for Chef. Sure enough he was the second one today that managed to get hit where the sun doesn't shine, Chris clearly enjoying his pain despite being a man himself.

"Six o'clock, ha ha ha."

Sugar was next to get blasted but this time it hit her face, just as she was searching for another bucket of glitter. She didn't seem to like the fact that Ella had one and she didn't, not realising that is wasted her team's time to collect supplies for a house. Chris and Chef only high fived. Chris tried to high five Melody too but she just turned back to look at the campers who were still attempting to get supplies purposefully ignoring him. She heard a small sigh come from Chris but still refused to turn around, she didn't come here to hurt the campers in fact it was the complete opposite! Sky was the next one to have a go but instead of getting hit like everybody else she not only managed to evade the tennis balls but hit one back to Chef with a wooden board. The ball went straight back, right into Chef giving him a black eye and forcing him to the ground with a big thump.

"Wowzers, that girl's got some skills huh?"

Blowing the horn Chris announced the end of the challenge and sent the campers off to start building their own shelters. Each team only had the things they had managed to gather which wasn't very much when it came to the team that was much too focused of food and glitter instead of the challenge. Chris looked back at Chef in amusement.

"It's building time. Are you coming or do you want to only get paid for half the episode?"

Grumbling, Chef stood up and walked up to Chris who was currently adorning a jet pack an excited look on his face. Following them, Melody rummaged through her rucksack until she found what she was looking for. A small container with cream for swelling and a small ice pack which she had in a small ice container, for emergencies like these. Taking it out, she gave it to Chef.

"Here you go. Just put it on your eye and it will bring the swelling down."

"Thanks."

He looked at her gratefully before walking away to apply the cream she gave him. Looking back at Chris she noted that he was once again looking at her, as if he was studying her reactions. When he saw her looking back however, he quickly broke the gaze.

"What am I supposed to do now Chris? I can't attend to the campers yet."

"Well you can either come with me to see how the campers are doing, or I can get someone to show you your room and the medical centre."

"I would prefer if you showed me these places first. i need to set everything up preferably today"

"Ok then, let's go."

Before she could protest, she was being lifted into the sky while being held bridal style, all thanks to Chris. Her eyes widened in shock and she clung to him tightly in case she fell of or Chris decided that it would be fun to drop her. From the look on Chris's face she could discern that he was enjoying this situation much more than he should have. He flew her to the mansion first to show her the room she would be sleeping in, before quickly picking her up again and flying her to the medical tent. She didn't even get a proper look at her room, not to mention dropping off the necessary things so as not to carry them around. It didn't seem like Chris cared much though. The medical centre itself was a little disappointing since it was in a tent, but all the equipment was there and besides it was summer so she doubted that it would be very cold.

Chris let me look around for a couple of minutes but she could see the impatience trying to worm it's way out. He kept tapping his foot and couldn't stop looking at his watch. Eventually Melody had enough. SIghing she turned to face him.

"If you have to go back to the campers then do that. i won't hold you here any longer than I have to."  
"But you won't see the houses the two teams built. I'll be hilarious!"

"I don't mind missing the end of one challenge. There will be plenty of chances to see one. I catch up to you when I've finished with everything here."

"FIne, I'll be off to judge the campers. You know your way to the voting grounds. Meet me there with the other campers to vote one off at sunset. Trust me it is going to be awesome."

With that he waved before starting up his jetpack again and flying off towards the middle of the island. Melody waved back at him before finally getting to work. After half an hour she had everything set up and prepared for any accidents which were sure to come knowing this show. Leaving this island without at least one broken bone was not an option thanks to Chris's weird and wacky challenges. Within the med bay she had space for two campers to lie down and at least one more to be treated for minor injuries. The bandages and medicine were practically unlimited so there wasn't anything to worry about there. What did raise her suspicions though were the various array of medicine ranging from food poisoning to serious poison. Even a hospital didn't have this much types of medicine, which only made her wonder just what Chris had in mind for those poor campers. Her mind went to Topher but she quickly shook it off. He would be fine. He was a strong competitor. Besides knowing his obsession, Chris could kill him and the guy would still be fangirling out of his grave.

Looking at the clock she noticed that it was around the time to go meet the campers to see which team won, and take care of those that were hurt, which thanks to Chef's tennis balls, would be a quite large number. Walking through the forest she soon came upon the campers sitting separated into teams on two logs. Both teams looked exhausted but team Maskwak seemed especially miserable suggesting straight away to her which team lost. Chris stood between the two teams smiling and waiting for her to make her way towards them. When she got there she stood next to Chris smiling at the beaten up campers, and trying to give them a little hope. Topher caught her eye and waved, to which she waved back, a fact Chris seemed to notice yet again. She had to wonder whether he was just staring at her all the time to notice things like these. The next thing she knew being practically carried to the other side of the clearing by Chris and as far away from Topher as she could be without arousing suspicion. Chris was even blocking her view of Topher by standing directly in their line of vision. She looked up at Chris in surprise but he point blank refused to look at her, instead deciding to start announcing which team won to avoid the awkward task of explaining himself.

"I'd like to say it was a hard decision but let's keep it real. Team Kinosewak wins the challenge."

There was a loud cheer from the named team while the others slumped in defeat. High fives and hugs were shared, and Rodney decided to crush Topher in one, successfully bringing him back into her line of vision. Melody winced at the difficulty of breathing he must have felt, while Chris just smiled narcissistically.

"Winners of each challenge will be rewarded this season with a takeout order from a sponsoring restaurant. This week it's the petting zoo barbecue."

Chris turned away from the campers and focused on the camera, giving Melody ample time to look back at Topher and ask if he was alright. A small smile and nod from the boy in question allowed her to relax and focus on the advert that Chris was currently promoting. It didn't sound anything she wanted to eat anytime soon, but then again she wasn't the one who was being forced to forage for food in a dangerous island.

"The petting zoo barbecue. Someone touched your dinner. We guarantee it."

Turning back, he gave Topher a glare before looking towards team Maskwak, a pleased grin on his face. Melody wondered who would be eliminated today but without having watched the challenge it was fairly hard to tell. Chris on the other hand looked very pleased almost as if he knew who was going to be voted off.

"Team Maskwak. Please go vote. One member of your team is going home today."

Groans erupted from said team as they filed out to the voting booth along with the winners who instead went off to celebrate their first victory. Topher waved her to him but she shook her head. This was a busy day for her and she still had to patch up Amy who had several bruises all over her body thanks to her sister. After giving her the correct cream to get the bruises out, Melody packed up her backpack with a couple of emergency supplies and started walking towards the mansion that would be her home for the next couple of weeks. She was half way there when Chris joined her in the walk, his face bearing a disappointed frown.

"Are you going home already? You won't even see who gets voted off!"

"Sorry Chris but I'm exhausted from today. You can tell me who gets voted off tomorrow."

"But I'm going to use a cannon!"

"I'm sure I will have plenty of time to see it in action but today I just want to sleep. Sorry."

"Nah, it's ok. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

With that he walked off towards the cliff at one end of the island. Melody stood and looked after him for a second before turning back towards the mansion and made way into her designated room. She would have plenty of chance to talk to him tomorrow, besides the priority at this moment however was sleep.

Chris slowly walked back towards his house after dealing with the campers, his mind deep in thoughts. Beardo getting voted off was pretty clear right from the beginning especially since the dude didn't do anything except for some useless noises. He was walking towards his room when he stopped in front of Melody's, a sudden urge to see her making it's way through his mind. He slowly opened the door and sighed in relief when he saw her peacefully asleep in her bed. Walking quietly towards her he noticed how happy she looked, something he felt pride at. Her raven hair was splayed all around her like a dark halo. Her blue eyes were hidden behind her eyelids covered by long eyelashes, and her small perfect lips were slightly open to breathe. Chris had to resist the urge to kiss them until they were perfectly plump and bruised. Shaking his head he brought his mind out of the gutter. He just met this girl. It was unnatural for him to feel this way, and yet he couldn't stop this strange feeling brewing in the bottom of his stomach. Brushing a lock of hair away from her face, he took one last look before exiting the room. There might be something there but he needed to get to know her first, things she liked, otherwise all of this would just go to waste. For now he just had to keep that Topher kid away from her…


	4. Chapter 4 - The Ofsticle

After yesterday's tiring day pulling herself out of the comfy bed was quite a challenge but Melody somehow managed to do it. The room itself wasn't big, but it was cosy and the multitude of pillows on the bed made her feel like she was sleeping on clouds. A massive walk in wardrobe too up one entire wall, and it made Melody wonder what its purpose was since her clothes didn't even seem to fill in half of it. She supposed that it must have been there to store all of Chris's various costumes he used over the years, being a billionaire came with its benefits after all. Picking out some clean jeans and a simple white top, she took a quick shower before getting dressed and walking downstairs. She would have gladly stayed under the warm water much longer but the growing rumbling of her stomach won her over in the end.

Reaching the kitchen she noted that no one was present in the room yet, especially since it was too early to get up yet and because Chris seemed to need a lot of beauty sleep. Deciding to make bacon and eggs she searched through the well stocked fridge and took out a frying pan. There was a small aspect of guilt about how the campers were starving in the woods while she ate well but she ignored it and concentrated on the cooking. Soon enough the smell of bacon wafted into the air and through the open kitchen doors, likely spreading all around the almost empty mansion. She had make sure to fry extra for the two men living with her, especially since she hasn't met a man yet that could resist bacon early in the morning.

Soon enough there were several bangs upstairs before two sets of sluggish footsteps could be heard. Chris entered the kitchen with droopy eyes and the cutest bed head she had ever seen. He was being followed by Chef who looked much more awake than his employer, his eyebrows raised at the fact that the medic was cooking instead of the chef. Melody just shrugged at his look and finished off the breakfast, placing it evenly on three plates although she did give the guys just a little bit more. She couldn't eat much in the morning anyway. Placing the plates on the table she noticed Chris's dark eyes following her around the kitchen, which combined with his ruffled hair made him look almost god like, not that she would tell him that. His ego was big enough as it is, it didn't need another boost.

"Morning sleepy heads."

"Morning, why were you up so early? I don't even wake up the campers this early."

"I guess I just couldn't sleep, besides this is probably going to be a busy day knowing you. I'm going to need all the preparation that I can get."

Nodding in understanding, Chris started scoffing down the breakfast very un-host like, causing Melody and Chef look at him curiously. Chef followed his suit, except that he made sure to be more polite while eating unlike Chris who seemed to have forgotten his table manners for a minute. They were both finished very soon and Melody made a move to stand up and put the plates in the sink when Chef stopped her.

"You did the cooking, no need to help me with the dishes."  
"You sure"

"Yeah"

"I'm going on a walk then."

Turning back to Chris Melody noticed that he was the only one that hasn't moved from his seat yet, just blankly staring at the wall and looking like he was going to fall asleep at any moment. He made no move to help Chef out and instead got up to walk back upstairs, no doubt back to bed. A small cough made him turn around and face Melody who was looking at him pointedly before pointing to chef washing the dishes.

"Hey Chris. Aren't you going to help Chef clean up?"

"Me, no. I'm the host here, he's the chef. Besides, do you know how long it takes me to look as good as I look normally?"

"I can only guess. By guys I'll see you at the next challenge."

Heading out of the mansion, she followed a small path towards the forest making sure to remember the way she came. She would be living on this island for a while and getting to know it would be the best way to move around freely. She couldn't afford getting lost during a challenge, no doubt Chris would be disappointed and whenever that happened he seemed to be very willing to take it out on the poor campers. The forest itself was beautiful though she had no doubt that is could be very dangerous as well, Chris would make sure of that since it's the place that the campers currently lived in. The peaceful silence of the forest was quickly broken by nearby shouts, cusing Melody to hasten towards them. When she reached the place where they originated from she saw Shaw and Jasmine with Sammy who was holding her hand and looking panicked. Walking closer she noticed a big rash on it, explaining the scared look on Sammy's face. her footsteps must have alerted the campers as they looked in her direction, relief visible in their features.

"What happened?"  
"Our little friend over here decided to pick up the little apple of death."

"Well it's a good thing she didn't eat it."

"But what do I do? I can't do the challenges like this!"

"It will be ok, just go to a stream and use the water and sand to rub the rash. It should take about a minute or so for the rash to go down."

"She's right. That's the fastest way to do it."

"But I was supposed to help with the food."

"Don't worry about it mate. I can handle this."

Jasmine sent Sammy off towards the closest stream while she and Shawn continued to collect the berries that looked edible. Nodding to them melody was about to continue on her way when Chris's voice pierced the air. Judging from his smug voice she deduced that he must have finally woken up properly and got ready, a feat for him under the limited time he had.

"Campers. The only good thing about this morning is that it's going to get worse, for you."

Melody rolled my eyes as his laughter filled the air.

"There's a path heading into the forest. Follow it to today's curtacular challenge."

After a couple of minutes of walking, she finally reached the clearing that Chris showed her yesterday, most of the campers already being present. they were just now eating the berries their teammates collected for them this morning, showing her just how hard this season of Total Drama would be. Chris always provided the campers with at least food and shelter, but this season they were left to themselves in a forest filled with dangerous animals and poisonous plants. Reaching Chris she decided that the safest place to stand would probably end up being at his side again if the evil smile on his face was anything to go by.

"Welcome victims, to the ofsticle relay race of hilarious hurts."

"Great name, total props Chris."

"Thankyou Topher. Now each player takes on a different ofsticle starting with the greased log over a thorny bog. That gets you to the greasy zip line over the ravine for the next player. Then a quick and painful journey through the greasetacular, tubtacular. Next up is the grease tires and then a pass on to the greasy wheelbarrow race. The last lucky player climbs a rope up the greased wall, or tries to and falls which is much funnier."

Chris laughed at the despairing faces of the campers as they looked at the greasy path ahead of them. All of them would no doubt end up being soaked in the fluid by the end of each part of the challenge and there wasn't even a place to wash it off except the various streams, though she wouldn't be surprised if they contained piranhas or crocodiles. Poor Dave looked like he was ready to be sick, his face going pale. Looking over the other camper's reactions, her attention was quickly caught by Topher who waved at her with a smile. She was about to wave back but before she could do, so she found herself pinned to something warm and hard restricting any movement she wanted to make. Gazing up she noticed Chris towering over her, a glare etched into his face although it wasn't directed at her but Topher. The boy didn't seem too bothered about it and in fact returned it with a glare of his own, his hands clenched. It almost seemed like the two of them were having a battle in their minds with her stuck in the middle and struggling to breathe. She wasn't the only one to notice the staring battle as the other campers were giving them questionable looks as well but before any of them could ask about what was happening they turned away from each other with a huff. Chris still refused to release her but his grip loosened slightly allowing her to take in a deep breath. It felt nice being held like this for once. She was always too shy for a boyfriend so she never experienced anything like this. She could already feel the blush lighting up on her face not only from chris's actions but also from all of the cameras and campers that were watching the interaction as well. She only hoped that Chris would edit this moment out of the actual footage.

"Yep. Now I was going to have you pass a relay baton but I couldn't find any."

"What are you going to make us use instead? Hohoh, this is going to be so good."

Topher seemed have momentarily forgotten about the disagreement he had with Chris only moments ago, and was now rubbing his hands excitedly at the prospect of a new challenge. he was either a really devoted fan to forgive Chris so easily or he was just a very talented actor. Either way it seemed almost weird to Melody.

"You'll be using greased wild boars."

Everyone watched as Chef dragged the two wild boars in. Even he had some difficulty in doing it so she had no doubt that the campers would be in even more trouble, especially ones like Dave. He just didn't seem strong enough, and with all the grease everywhere…

"Not so much as batons but bacons."

Melody gave Chris and incredulous look. That joke was terrible. Chef just shrugged his shoulders as if he was used to this, but even he raised an eyebrow when Topher complimented him once again while laughing. She was really starting to consider whether there was something seriously wrong with him.

"Good one Chris."

"Thank You Topher. First team across the finish line with their boar wins."

By noe Melody had lost any interest in the conversation as Topher's team started arguing that they have 7 people to 6 ofsticles which is more than they needed. Noting the three beach chairs in front of a large screen she endeavoured to try and sit down but was once again was stopped by Chris's arm which refused to leave her body. This time it abandoned her shoulders and wrapped itself tightly around her waist bringing her back in the position she was in a moment ago, only this time her entire back was pressed up against his chest allowing her to feel exactly how muscled he was. Not that she was thinking about that at all. The start of the challenge quickly brought her out of the dangerous thoughts that were plaguing her mind.

"Ready, Set… Go!"

With that said and the campers starting the challenge, Chris finally released her from his grip making her legs feeling like they would collapse at any moment from the embarrassment and the shivers that went up her spine at his touch. She practically ran towards the chairs that were set up for them, making Chris chuckle lightly at how silly she no doubt must have looked. She decided to ignore him in favour of her sanity, preferring to focus instead on the challenge in front of her.

Rodney and Sky were first in the challenge. Sky seemed to have some more difficulty than Rodney, even having a pig fart in her face while he went straight on the log. The tables soon changed however as Sky used her olympic abilities to flip on the pig and slide the rest of the way across while Rodney stumbled and slipped until he finally fell dropping the pig to Topher. He fell on his privates. Melody winced while Chris laughed. Most of the male players probably wouldn't be able to have kids by the time they got out of this show.

"And that's why they call it the ofsticle, right Chris?

"Nice one Topher!"

She rolled her eyes again but to be truthful she was already getting used to all of the terrible jokes Chris came up with and the constant praises he got from Topher. She could only imagine how Chef must have felt working with Chris all these years. Looking back towards the challenge she noticed Shawn getting bitten by his pig, releasing the zip line and unfortunately falling off the cliff. At least there was a lake at the bottom and his pig still managed to get across to Sugar hitting her straight in the face. Topher on the other hand managed to strap himself to the zip line and went down smoothly.

"Dude, Chris...I am buying this challenge. You must have been up all night planning this one, because you kind of look like you were."

The panic on Chris's face was enough to tell her just how much he stressed over his appearance and how bad that comment must have affected him. His hands immediately reached up to touch his face as he looked at melody and Chef questioningly.

"Do I look tired?"

Chef just turned away awkwardly, trying to avoid answering by whistling a soft tune and trying to pretend as if he didn't hear the question. Realising that he wasn't going to be any help, Chris turned his desperation towards melody who winced at having to answer him. Looking closely one could see the slightly visible bags under his eyes and the stress marks that appeared here and there on his face. To a normal man it wouldn't have been anything to worry about, but Chris wasn't just any man, and his appearance was everything to him. She didn't want to crush him by telling him the truth.

"Just a bit. You can't really see it unless you look really closely."

Chris's head fell into his arms and he let out a loud groan.

"The viewers are looking at me closely. I can't look tired, it ruins my image!"

"How about I make you some tea then. I've got a special kind that helps you sleep. I use it all the time."

He looked at her studying her face carefully for a minute before nodding and straightening out again, the infamous smile on his face. He looked as he was about to say something but was interrupted when Topher attempted to call a brake in place of Chris, when he noticed that the current host was still preoccupied by the earlier remark. I could see the scowl on Chris's face and if eyes could kill then Topher would be dead ten times over.

"Which pork will place first, find out after the break here on Total…"

"Ehem.."

Topher turned around looking petrified but not the least bit apologetic.

"I am so sorry. I didn't know what I was…"

Chris just pushed past him, the scowl on his face instantly turning into a smile when he reached the camera.

"It's neck to neck and about to get tubular. Who's got the pork chops to win? Find out right here on Total Drama Pahkitew Island!"

She almost burst out laughing when Chris was doing his presentation. Topher was still behind him and insisted on copying all of Chris's facial expressions and gestures right behind him in front of a world wide public. One thing was sure, Chris would not be happy when he saw that when he was viewing the footage later. It made her almost want to sit back with a bag of popcorn and just watch all of the drama that was about to unfold.


	5. Chapter 5 - Eliminations

Chris was still fuming from what happened during break but managed to put it aside once the show started again. He was the host after all and if he was in a fowl mood then so would be his audience and no one wanted that. Straight from the start there was chaos on the field, and Chris seemed to enjoy it very much. Sugar bonded with her pig, even giving it a name although it seemed to be very one sided as the pig tried to wiggle out of her tough grip, only making it worse since Sugar was holding it upside down. On the other team Amy and Sammy just got their pig, but Amy's character once again caused her to shout at Sammy at something she didn't do, which only allowed Sugar to get a head start. Soon enough her screeching terrified the poor pig and caused it to run straight for the entrance to the pipe maze. On the way out the girls seemed to have managed to hit every single bend in the maze, no doubt causing multiple bruises. Melody was almost tempted to ignore Amy but she couldn't be favourable, everyone deserved treatment especially after Chris was done with them.

"I was worried about cruelty to animals in this challenge, but I'm fine with cruelty to Samy."

"It's Sammy. She has her own name you know."

Chris looked at her in shock, for once seeming to be speechless. It seemed like he was never told off for his comments and now that she did it in front of national tv stunned him into silence. He would probably edit this out of the show later on but she didn't care. She wouldn't let him pick on just one poor girl especially since her twin already seemed bad enough. he was already torturing them with these challenges, the most he could do was treat them like human beings. melody shivered slightly at the cold breeze in the air but still stubbornly refused to look at him. A soft sigh could be heard beside her before she sensed some movement. Looking up she noticed that Chris stood up from his chair and sat on the edge of hers, trying to get her attention.

"What are you doing?"

"You're obviously getting cold and I can't allow my medic to freeze on me. Move over."

Melody was reluctant to do so but the determined look on Chris's face told her right away that there wasn't any room for arguments with him. Finally moving over, she almost sighed in pleasure at the warmth that radiated off him. His arm wrapped around her shoulder and brought her into his chest, causing the shivers wracking her body to stop almost immediately. She couldn't deny that she was very comfortable, however at the same time she could feel her face heating up again. At this point she had lost count of all of the blushes that Chris put on her face, and the fact that Chef was winking at them didn't help the situation at all.

Turning away from the awkward situation, she concentrated on the challenge thanking whoever was watching over her that none of the campers seemed to have noticed the change in their positions. Sugar still seemed to be attacked to her pig, going as far to even refuse to pass it over to Ella, as if the thoughts of the challenge were completely forgotten. Thankfully Ella had her songs which caused the pig to escape Sugar's grip and follow Ella through the hoops. Scarlett on the other hand found a much more efficient method of getting her pig over the hoops. Scattering some kind of seeds she urged the pig to eat them and therefore follow her to her teammate.

"Ooh. Looks like Scarlett's inner animal trainer has come out. Wait what's that noise?"

It seemed that Chris had only just realised that Ella was singing again, almost as if something was distracting him from the challenges which was weird since that was what he lived for. Instead of running over the hoops like Scarlett, Ella opted to dance across them while holding hands with the smiling pig. It was a truly comical sight for anyone except Chris. The scowl on his face was enough to tell her that he didn't appreciate the singing, only further proved when he put the air horn into the speaker and pressed it. The loud noise erupted out of a speaker right next to Ella startling the pig and making it run around in circles allowing Scarlett to finish the course first.

"You scared him!"

"There is no singing required in this season. None!"

His words made Ella gasp in sorrow before remembering the challenge and chasing desperately after her pig in order to hand it to Dave. Melody was about to tell Chris off but quickly realised that this was his job after all, he was getting payed for it. Instead she glared at him, causing him to smile sheepishly back at her before turning his gaze away. Ella finally managed to get the pig to Dave who was visibly starting to freak out at all of the grease that covered it. Scarlett also managed to put her pig into Max's wheelbarrow, putting on a weird contraption on it's head in the mean time while Max was distracted. The machine looked very weird but since it wasn't against the rules she wasn't about to comment on it, Scarlett did seem the smartest person here after all.

"I forgot to mention that today's grease is brought to you from Chef's grease trap in his restaurant."

This time Melody did punch Chris lightly in the stomach causing him cough a little and smirk again.

"Leave poor Dave alone. He has enough on his head as it is."

"Aw, come on. It's fun, you should try it sometime."

her second hit to the chest was interrupted when a grease ball missed the pair by inches, the closeness of the missile making them focus back on the game. It seemed that whatever Scarlett put on the pig had an effect as it was now picking up grease from the floor and chucking it at everybody in range, including those that weren't currently in the game while Max wheeled it to the next section of the challenge. At first it seemed to be helping Max but soon it realised that he was the closest target, causing him to trip and fall, allowing dave to reach the finish line first and pass his pig to Leonard although max wasn't far behind with his own pig. Although Dave finished his part the large amount of grease that he was covered in caused him to have a panic attack, only calming down when Sky walked over to him and diverted his attention. It was cute, the way he looked at her and it made Melody wonder if she would ever have something like that.

"It seems like Sky and Dave have a thing for each other, doesn't it guys?"

"Yeah you're right…"

"Don't you dare use that against them. They are so cute together!"

She heard Chris mumble something but her ears didn't quite catch it.

"Did you say something?"

"No not at all."

Despite the advantage that Dave gave to Leonard, the wizard wasted his chance by muttering spells to go up the big wooden wall instead of actually trying to climb it. Like suspected it didn't have any effects at all except allowing Jasmine to win. Her massive stature permitted her to grab the pig under one arm and quickly climb up the wall before jumping down at the other end in under a minute.

"This just in. Wizard beaten by Amazon. Team Kinosewak wins. Tonight's winners meal is provided by Jimmy's beaks and feet. Our chickens walk the walk, talk the talk, then we put them in the frier. Now that's evil."

Melody's nose wrinkled at the thought of eating chicken beaks and feet but she supposed that it must taste delicious when you're starving. She saw Chris glance at her face quickly but when she turned to look at him his attention was already back on the camera ignoring her presence completely.

"Team Maskwak, please head to the elimination campfire area. Cannon needs nom nom. Hahaha. Hey why so glum, you tried your best and it was horrible. Now let's see who you all blame for your collective failure."

Melody poked him in the ribs again but he ignored her. The only indication that he even felt it was the fact that the grin on his face stretched even further. Shaking her head, melody began heading to the house when an arm wrapped around her waist and brought her back to him. She wondered for a moment why she hadn't accused him of being too touchy but for the life of her she couldn't figure out the answer. Well...she could, she just didn't want to admit to it, at least not yet.

"Where are you going. You're coming with me to the eliminations."  
"But I don't want to see you shoot people out of a cannon. That's the type of thing that you enjoy not me."

"Tough luck. You promised me yesterday, remember?"

With that he slung her over his shoulder and casually carried her over to the elimination area. Melody banged her fists on his hard back but it didn't seem to have any effect on him, in fact only making him slightly chuckle at the situation. Chef also looked amused while standing to the side and ignoring all of her cries for help directed at him. Chris seemed in a better mood when he was around Melody which was better for Chef himself, so he would make sure to stick them together if he really had to. They finally reached the elimination site, but by then she had completely gave up on trying to get out of his hold and just hung there loosely. Some of the campers snickered at her position but a sharp glare from Chris quickly put that at rest. They weren't going to face his wrath, especially when they were completely at his mercy on this island. One by one they went to cast their votes on who to kick out, voting in a small outhouse where no one could see them, making her feel sorry for having to sit in such a vile smelling place. This lasted a couple of minutes and yet Chris still refused to release her under any circumstance. Blood started rushing to her head and a wave of dizziness washed over her.

"Chris could you put me down already? Being upside down all this time is making me feel dizzy."

"Ops."

His hands moved and her feet touched the ground again, though his hands chained her to his chest as soon as they did so almost as if he was trying to prevent her from running away. normally she would have been frustrated at him, but at that moment the feeling of being upside down around still hadn't left her and she had no doubt that if he were to let go then she would collapse. Her feet just didn't get the idea of balance just yet and just stayed there uselessly. She continued to stay pinned to his chest throughout the counting of votes and even then he refused to release her.

"Right then, Shawn, Sugar, Dave, Sky you're all safe from elimination. Which leaves Ella the songbird and Leonard the wizard. And the irritating odd ball going home is...

The purposefully long pause clearly did it's job as the two remaining campers started sweating under the pressure. Ella was wringing her hands to try hide her nerves while Leonard had his eyes closed and was muttering enchantments under his breath. Most of the other campers watched with vague interest, more to entertain themselves rather than out of need, especially since they were already safe.

"Leonard, yeah, pack your potions, you're going flying."

"Me?"

"Noooooo"

melody winced as Sugar made an ear piercing screech at the result of the eliminations before promptly fainting. In a last effort Leonard started shouting out various spells including fireballs, time travel and lighting all directed at Chef, who simply continued to remain unharmed and unfazed. |Plucking him up by the scruff of his robes, Chef carried him to the cannon and popped him in, ignoring any protests that either he or Sugar had.

"Nothing...so weird. Guess what Chef, Melody. I'm going to show you a little magic trick of my own. Watch in amazement as I make this contestant disappear."

With those words Chris pressed the button on the remote making the ex-contestant fly out of the cannon with a scream and land several miles of the coast of the island in the freezing water. She hoped that there was someone fishing them out but with the smirk on his face she doubted it very much.

"So far we lost the beatboxer and a wizard. Two key players in a game I will never, ever want to play. Who's next in the boom boom machine? Only time will tell, on Total Drama Pakhitew Island!"

"So how did you enjoy the eliminations, Melody?"

"They were quite amusing however I would have prefered if you hadn't shot Leonard out of a cannon."

Chris just grinned at her response before nudging her in the arms winking repeatedly until she finally started laughing too though more from his behaviour that shooting Leonard out of the cannon. A comfortable silence settled between them as they walked towards the mansion, the medic shivering from time to time at the cold air that was blowing through the tall trees. Noting this, Chris brought her back into his arms smirking as he saw her look away blushing but remain in her place anyway. They stayed like that the rest of the journey until reaching the front door. Melody shrugged his shoulder off once they were inside and headed towards the kitchen, the host following her like a lost puppy.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm making you that tea. You said yourself that you may have sleeping problems, this will help."

"Ugh, don't remind me about that. I don't know whether to thank that kid or to strangle him."

"Don't hurt him. He's your fan. It's normal that he wants to see you at your best."

Chris just went silent at that and sat down waiting for the water to boil in the kettle. When the tea was ready, melody brought it over to the big round table and sat across from Chris to talk a little bit more. She was curious to find out what prison was like, but from the description he gave her it sounded twice as good as her own house once you ignore the fact that it was a prison. The exhaustion slowly crept up on her and she didn't even notice when her eyes drifted closed and she fell asleep at the table.

Seeing her asleep at the table brought a smile to Chris's face. It was just so adorable the way she released little snores here and there while snuggling into her arms. he wondered slightly what it would feel like to have her snuggling into his arms before dismissing the thought. He still didn't know her that well but he was sure that she wouldn't take kindly to where his thoughts were heading. Feeling the effects of the tea, he decided to turn in for the night, but not without making sure that Melody was ok. He walked over to her and picked her up gently, her weight not making much of a difference to him as he carried her upstairs to her room. Placing her on the comfortable bed, he pulled the covers up but instead of leaving he simply stood and stared at her for a little while. He knew that he still had plenty of time to win her over during the duration of the season, but he would definitely need to step his game up from simple hugs. The rest of his night was spent dreaming about the various ways he would use to win her over and how he imagined their future to be. It was truly a good night for him.


	6. Chapter 6 - Doom Balloons

Melody woke up to the gentle singing of the birds in the forest, although it was much later than she had anticipated. The tea and a full day yesterday must have tired her out more than she had thought. The house seemed empty as she walked downstairs, and since there was no one else in the house she decided on simple cereal as breakfast. When she finished eating and washing up, she opted for another walk in the forest. It was peaceful for the moment, almost making her feel like she was on holiday and not in a crazy show where the host found it fun to see people get hurt. She wondered what Chris had in store for today, but didn't have to wait long. A loud sound from the speakers broke the peaceful silence startling the birds and making Melody cover her ears from it's volume.

"No one Ella. It's challenge time. All butts to the meeting area immediately. That includes you too Melody. You're not missing another challenge to have a walk in the forest."

She glared at the speaker above her, trying to figure out just how Chris knew what she was doing. Did he just guess or did he really have the whole island plastered with cameras? Curiosity about the comment to Ella also surfaced but she quickly dismissed it as Ella singing again. He really didn't seem to like that.

"I'm coming Chris!"

Melody turned around to came face to face with Topher, literary. The speed and excitement he had prevented him from stopping in time and causing him to crash right into her. They landed in an awkward position with Topher on top of her, their lips only centimeters apart. She tried to roll out from underneath him but his weight on her chest prevented that. He only realised what she was attempting to do after he received a pointed glare which immediately pushed him into action. He bolted up apologising and reached out his hand to help her up, which she gratefully took. She wiped the dirt from her jeans before turning back to the boy standing beside her.

"Morning Topher."

"Melody! it's very nice to see you. Sorry about the crash. Would you like me to escort you to the meeting area as an apology?"  
"That would be lovely thank you."

She took his reached out arm and linked it with her own, traveling like that until they reached the specified clearing. They passed the time by talking to each other about their lives and how they ended up here on this island. He told her how he had been a fan of Chris since he watched the first season of Total Drama Island a couple of years ago, while she told him why she decided to become a nurse and all the schools and exams that she still had to pass to become fully certified. They didn't have much time to talk about anything more personal but the short time they had allowed them to get to know each other better and become good friends. She really hoped that he would get at least a good shot at the million since he seemed like such a nice person.

Chris was not happy about their closeness to say the least when they finally appeared, his eyes glaring daggers at their interlinked hands. He had watched the encounter in the forest on one of his cameras and found himself thanking every god he knew and even ones that he didn't know that they didn't kiss. He was sure that if they did Topher would be going home today either way and not by the cannon but instead in a body bag. He tried to signal Melody just how upset he was about their position in hopes that her shy nature would cause her to let go, but instead she just ignored his glaze and continued to talk to the wannabe host to his frustration.

"Morning Chris. Totally pumped for today's challenge."

"Oh good. I can't tell you how little that means to me."

Melody glanced at Chris in surprise wondering why the complement didn't cause him to grin in smugness like normally. In fact his answer was very rude and almost caused her to ask him what his problem was. She noticed his glares at their linked hands but ignored them in an attempt to show Chris that she couldn't care what he thought about Topher. He was her friend and nothing would change that, no matter how much Chris may have wanted it. He turned away from us in frustration to look back at his clipboard but she could still see his fists clenching dangerously in anger.

"You think that I could explain the challenge to the others, today?"

"Whoah whoah, that's kind of the host's job Topher."

"Right, right, sorry. Just exited. It's like were already winners because we got to meet Chris, the Chris McLane. Wow."

The effect was instant. Chris's hands stopped clenching and instead the angry look on his face, a smug smile appeared just like it was supposed to. It seemed that Topher managed to placate Chris for now although the dislike for Topher could still be seen in the way he looked at him, almost like contempt and a tinge of something else though she couldn't quite put a finger on it. He motioned for her to stand next to him as the other campers filed in, and she did so with a small wave towards Topher. It just seemed a little bit safer since Chris looked happier the farther away she was from Topher, and an angry Chris was not something she wanted to deal with so early in the morning.

"Well said Topher. Now gather round victims. Today's game is called doom balloons."

"You had me at doom."

I almost burst out laughing as Topher shushed Max indignantly before motioning for Chris to continue introducing the challenge. That boy was obsessed with the host and she had yet to decide whether it was good or not. Chris certainly seemed to be fixed on the second option. It was probably because he wanted to be the only host here and that included working together with her, nothing more than that.

"Go ahead Chris."

"You'll have 10 seconds to collect a bunch of balloons that are filled with who knows what. Paint, itching powder, bees, spiders, bird poop, its always a surprise."

"Yay who doesn't love a surprise?!"

"None of you Ella, none of you will love a surprise."

"Hahaha, Chris, I love the way you'd…"

Tophers almost remark was the last straw before Chris broke and blew into his whistle, effectively preventing any more comments about his challenge before he even had the time to properly introduce it. Melody rubbed her ear while glaring at Chris. She knew that he wanted peace but he didn't have to whistle so close to her ear, especially since the best he could do was look at her apologetically.

"If you're hit with any balloon contents you're out. Doesn't matter if the balloons are thrown, dropped, launched, kicked, or sent by courier. Last player standing wins it for their team. Get your balloons people!"

Chris blew his whistle again, this time making sure that it was nowhere near her ear making the campers pick up as many balloons as they could carry before scattering into the forest. It was amusing seeing them to attempt not to break any of the balloons while running with them. Chris seemed to be grinning at the various possibilities of the camper's pain, clearly ignoring the unimpressed look Melody had on her face. His eyes followed one contestant in particular, his mind making up a wide variety of possible scenarios that could eliminate him from the game. He could always make it look like Topher betrayed his team. That would surely make his team and Melody hate him. The problem was doing something like that without allowing Melody to realise what he did. She just seemed too observant for her own good.

"The hunting doesn't start until the airhorn."

It didn't take long for Chris to blow the air horn after the warning, the campers immediately beginning to go on the offensive. Melody sat together on reclining chairs in front of the big monitor watching amusedly as the campers prepared to attack in the strangest of places like bushes or trees, most of which still made the quite visible. Melody sat thinking about the balloons when a sudden thought came to her head. She looked questionably at Chris who returned her look with his own questioning one.

"If there are bees and spiders in those balloons then how in the world are they breathing?"

"No idea. It does mean though that when the balloons finally pop they are going to be extra angry. Oh this is going to be fun!"

"One more question. How did you manage to get them into the balloons without being hurt?"

Chris hesitated in answering and soon enough stopped completely when one of the interns was wheeled away on a stretcher, his head and hands twice the size that they should be. The host scratched his head in embarrassment and tried to avoid her accusing glare. It didn't stop him however from preventing her from getting up to see to the boy. He grabbed her wrist in a tight hold and pulled her back down onto her seat, a firm look on his face.

"You're not going anywhere. You can't miss the show!"

"But…"

"He'll be fine, now sit back down."

Melody grumbled under her breath for a couple more moments before giving in and sitting back down on the chair, not missing the fact that Chris's hand still didn't move from her wrist keeping it in a tight hold. They watched as Scarlett and Max put their brains together to make a dart, blowing up two of the balloons that Sky was carrying while talking to Dave. Chris's prediction about the bees seemed to come true much to Sky's dismay, especially since both of the balloons seemed to contain them. She ran off into the forest with Dave on her tail, as Chris laughed his head off. Standing up he walked up to the camera preparing for another break, laughter still dancing in his eyes.

"Max is really enjoying the game. Obviously he doesn't know what kind of surprises are waiting in the rest of the balloons. Hahaha. Stay tuned for more mayhem when we return for Total Drama Island."

As soon as the break began, Melody stood up and walked towards the medical tent despite Chris trying to stop her. She simply reminded him about the poor intern who had yet to be treated before turning her back to him and continuing on her way. As she did so she didn't notice the looks she received. Chris's face wore the look of a lost puppy who had no idea what to do with himself. It had never been so hard for him to win a woman over, and Melody was proving to be quite a challenge. He just didn't know what to do about her shy but stubborn nature. Since he never really had to win a girl over before he didn't quite know how to proceed from that point. He certainly couldn't stop torturing the campers, it was his job after all. Maybe he could make the challenges slightly easier? Chris shook the thoughts out of his head as quickly as they came. What was he thinking, risking his job for a woman he didn't even know for an entire week. She was pretty, he'd give her that, but to give up everything for her was going too far. This fascination had to go and soon otherwise he didn't know what he'd do.

On the other hand Topher was very pleased with the development that was happening between the two people. It meant that he still had a chance to win over Melody, crushing Chris in the process, and in doing so he would have both the host job and the pretty girl. It was a win win. Chris would regret treating him the way he did. He already had Melody's friendship, which fortunately came with everything about her like fears, ambitions, hopes and dreams, knowledge that Chris didn't have.

Melody on the other hand was thoroughly confused about what she was feeling. On one hand she liked Chris and his antics, but on the other he stood against everything that she believed in. He tortured people for fun and money while all she wanted to do was help them. Besides there was still the fact that this show couldn't last forever and they would have to eventually split up. She couldn't follow him into the world of celebrities, and she doubted very much that he would give up his fame to be with her. That was the sort of thing that happened in stories and cartoons, not real life no matter how much she would have liked it. The truth was that there was never going to be anything between her and Chris no matter how much she wished. She had to stay away from him, to protect her heart.


	7. Chapter 7 - Twinning

The break wasn't too long due to the chaotic nature of the challenge, but it gave everyone a chance to think on what to do. Chris and Topher were already planning on stepping up their race for Melody's heart, not that she was aware of the competition between them. Her plan for the rest of the season was to stay as far away from either of the two men although she has a vague inkling that it would be much harder than she thought.

It didn't take long for things to start stirring up straight after the short pause for breath. Melody and Chris winced as they watched Sugar getting attacked by a venomous snake. The reptile attached itself to her face and hung on tightly by its poisonous fangs. The horrifying sight shocked everyone in viewing range, including a poor Rodney who screamed thinking it was a monster. What turned out to be even more shocking though was the moment when Sugar grabbed the orange reptile by it's twisting tail and simply pulled it off her face with little effort. There seemed to be no serious wounds on her body as unlikely as it seemed, and the smile on her face told the viewers that she seemed to enjoy the experience. Unfortunately Rodney didn't seem to share that view as he was knocked down when Sugar threw the snake at him. His screams could be heard even from their location as he fled panicking into the forest. Melody and Chris simply stared in astonishment as the girl in question carried on with the task whistling a tune under her breath.

"What in the world just happened?"

"I haven't got a clue. That was a poisonous viper imported straight from Australia. She should have been in an almost death state and horrific pain right now. Whatever that girl is made off, I don't want to know. But it's going to be so awesome trying to see the other campers hurt her!"

A sharp glare from Melody quickly downed his enthusiasm. He had to be more calm if he wanted to win her over. Sky seemed to be in a situation just as uncomfortable and terrifying as Rodney. Leaning against a big boulder, she was currently attempting to remove all of the stingers from her arm by scraping them off with a smaller rock. The glare she gave to Dave clearly showed who she blamed for her current situation, especially after seeing him wince at all of the stingers she had to yet remove from her back. In defence as to why he didn't save her he explained that he was allergic to bee stings, before starting on a very long list of the other things that he was apparently not allowed to touch including tomatoes, wheat, peanuts, flowers (mountain lion and dander), and most fruit flavoured gums. Melody being a medic was sceptic. People with that many allergies didn't exist, at least not in this universe.

"Are you serious?"

"Well I've never been tested for it but I've always suspected. It's better to be on the side caution when…"

Melody nodded her head in understanding at Dave's words. She knew it was impossible for someone to be allergic to that many things, and if it turned out that he was telling the truth then she would gladly give up getting her medical degree. She looked at Chris scrutinising his face, not noticing when his eyes finally met hers.

"Did you get lost in my eyes?"

"What!? No! I was just trying to figure out what you're allergic to."

"I'm not allergic to anything."

"Everyone has one."

"Not me. What's yours?

"I'm not telling you."

"Why not?"

"Because knowing you, I will end up eating it by the end of the show. Now shush, I'm watching the show."

They sat in silence for the next few minutes, grinning slightly as Dave ran into a tree from excitement. Melody could tell that Chris was thinking about something and she could feel his eyes on her every few moments. Finally he broke the silence.

"Nuts?"

It took her a moment to figure out what he was talking about, but when she did a scowl appeared on her face, glaring daggers at the grinning host before her. He seemed to take the hint that his guess wasn't correct from her expression, although that didn't stop him from carrying on with his guesses.

"Fish? Dust? Pollen?..."

Before she had the opportunity to stop him, Topher walked into their clearing making her sigh in relief instead, though Chris didn't look as happy.

"Hey Chris, Melody."

"Topher, you're in the middle of a challenge dude."

"I know but it's important! You got to call in the makeup department to do something about those crow's feet."

"Crow feet…?"

His eyes scrunched in disbelief as he stared at Topher, before glancing briefly at me. He acted almost as if he expected her to look at him in disgust or something. Topher noticed Chris's small glance and grinned, only adding more fuel to the fire.

"Yeah, it looks like they were wearing cleats. What if kids start talking about how old you look and the organisers will replace you with a younger host."

"Replace me...eh…"  
That was enough for Chris as he stood up from the recliner and took off into the forest, screaming his head off and covering his face. Topher felt no inclination to follow him, just giving Melody a small wave before heading back into the forest. He narrowly avoided a balloon, and Melody found herself regretting that the shooter didn't have better aim, although she couldn't really say why. Sighing she leaned back into her chair, opting to simply remain watching the show. She had no intentions of helping Chris with his make up, especially since she didn't have a single clue about it either.  
She watched as more rivalries erupted between the campers. Ella once again stated conversing with Sugar about their friendship, although the conversation seemed very one sided, especially when Sugar pushed the poor girl into the closest bush she came across. Dave on the other hand discovered Shawn otherwise known as 'eyeball tree', who seemed to disguise himself with his cake making skills. That idea seemed very familiar to Melody for some reason but she just could not remember where. Shawn quickly took out Max and Scarlett with his slingshot, hitting Scarlett with a balloon containing some green goo, while Max was unlucky enough to get hit with sneezing powder. Dave also managed to get lucky enough to hit Rodney with a balloon containing a mysterious pink substance, similar to a strawberry pudding.

It was the finally that Chris decide to show up again, his face straightened out and almost glowing from the emergency treatment he received. Even Melody who wasn't too favourable to makeup, had to admit that he looked a lot better and younger. She was about to voice her thought when Topher once again coincidentally appeared again, slightly scaring her with the way he looked at her for a moment.

"Wow good makeup job dude. You look 20 years younger. It's like you're 30 again."

"I am 30!"

"Oh, erm, yeah I know, and now you look it. But you could use some moisturiser."

Chris looked angry at the remark, almost enough to punch Topher in the face in front of all the cameras watching everything. At the last moment he stopped and smirked slightly before retreating pulling Melody with him. She didn't have to wait long for an explanation of his weird behaviour for long, as the answer came in a spider filled balloon that landed right on top of Topher's head. The spiders quickly scattered around his body, some even crawling beneath his clothes, making him scream in panic and run back into the forest.

"Thank you!"

"Yeah did you see that?"

"You're out of balloons Dave. You might want to skedaddle."

Chris stared thoughtfully at the place where Topher disappeared, unconsciously rubbing his jaw with his hand.

"Moisturiser, huh?"

"For goodness sakes Chris. You don't need moisturiser, you look fine."

"Thank you but I can't disappoint the fans. Keep an eye on the game. I'm off to get some moisturiser."

He made his way towards the forest again, but stopped halfway to the treeline his face regaining that mischievous grin. he turned around to look at her, his eyes sparkling at the cautious look in her eyes.  
"Cat fur?"

Soon enough he was heading towards the trees again, although this time he was running from the small shoes that were being aimed at his head. He honestly didn't know why he was riling her up, but it couldn't be denied that she was cute when she was angry. Melody on the other hand could only think where the best place to bury would be. Her arms were still crossed as she watched Jasmine hit both Sugar and Jasmine, with balloons containing multi coloured goop in them. The bigger of the two girls was not happy, and was quick to blame someone else.

"Chris! She's singing again."

Melody watched in amusement as Chris stumbled the two girls, his face smothered in a white substance while two cucumbers were laying on his eyes. When he was talking about moisturiser, Meldy didn't realise that he was going to go all the way. He really was dedicated to his looks.

"Did I hear singing again, did I?"

"Yeah no account of her sing song she got us hit with balloons full of mustard, radish and…"

A shiver passed through the medic as she had to watch Sugar dip a finger into the substance on her body and then proceeded to eat it, not knowing fully what it was. It really made her worried whether her previous accidents on the show didn't damage her brain. Then again, it seemed that Chris only chose the craziest of people to be on this show.

"some third thing I can't identify."

"If my song was the cause of that then I…"

"Ok, as long as the singing caused you pain I'm happy."

By the time Chris made it back to the main clearing, the substance had been washed off his face and he was back to his grinning self. Melody was still angry with him, seen clearly through her crossed arms and scowl, but the host didn't seem to see it as much of a set back. He simply sat in his recliner and waited a few moments, that grin never leaving his face. Finally she broke and looked at him full of scepticism and curiosity.

"How in the world did you not trip?"

"Practice makes perfect darling. Now, dog fur?"

"Shut up!"

They watched together as Sammy managed to hit Dave with a balloon filled with itching powder, although Amy tried to claim the hit for her own despite clearly failing. Dave on the other hand was running around trying to scratch all of the spots that were itching him.

"I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to this!"

"Everyone is allergic to it. It's itching powder Dave."

The game ended quickly after that due to the argument between the two sisters, having broken the last balloon and spilling the pink contents on themselves and Jasmine, effectively eliminating everyone left in their team. Jasmine's could easily be heard all over the island even without all of the cameras transmitting the sound and footage.

"Game over. Team Maskwak wins the challenge!"

The two of them waited for a while, watching as the exhausted campers stumbled towards them one by one, making Melody sigh. This would be a long night for her, that was certain.

"Tonight's winners get to enjoy dinner from Mary's lamb burger. That's Mary's lamb burger and barbecue emporium. Mary had a little lamb, had..."

Melody stood to the side awkwardly as Chef and Chris laughed their heads of at the awful pun. She really didn't get their humour. She was planning on skipping the eliminations and getting started on treating the campers, but one look from Chris warned her that she either went willingly or he would carry her there again, and that was some embarrassment that she would rather avoid again.

"All right players. Those of you holding a marshmallow are safe...for now."

Looking around, it was clear that the only ones who weren't currently holding a marshmallows were the twins Sammy and Amy. The older twin seemed to be eating a small apple that seemed very familiar, although Melody couldn't quite make it out from the distance she was standing at. It wouldn't stop nagging at her mind though…

"Amy, Sammy, one of you is going home tonight. Amy, you seem more concerned with bossing Sammy around than with helping your team. "

Amy started choking at the comment and it took Melody a while to realise that it wasn't from the criticism but that she really was choking. She was about to rush towards her in an attempt to see what was wrong with her, but Chris's hand around her small wrist effectively stopped her from carrying on in that endeavour. His smirk told her that he knew exactly what was going on, although this didn't reassure her that there was no danger to Amy.

"And Sammy, it was your balloon that cost your team the challenge. The sister heading home is…"

At this point in time Amy had enough and visibly tried to get everyone's attention onto herself by waving her arms about and trying to gurgle words out of her swollen mouth. Sammy effectively prevented that however, by playing perfectly into the role of her older sister.

"Oh ignore her, she's just trying to get sympathy aren't you _Sammy_?"

More choked protests were heard from Amy, but Chris just put on a puzzled expression and pretended not understand a word of what she was trying to tell him, though he could not stop the grin that remained on his mouth for the duration of the eliminations.

"Can't understand what you're saying Sammy and it really doesn't matter, because you've been voted off!"

In the end, Chef had to carry Amy to the cannon as she was struggling so much in protest, Sammy waving at her mockingly. Only the three of them remained as Amy was loaded onto the cannon, her muffled protests not stopping for even a minute. This time Melody had to admit that she didn't regret coming to the eliminations. Watching Amy get kicked off the island was definitely worth it.

"By by Sammy. Have a nice flight."

"Wish I could understand, it sounds really important. Oh well."

With that said, Chris pressed the button and shot Amy off into the air, everyone watching in amusement as she fell into the freezing ocean miles away.

"11 players remain but only one goes home with a million dollars. Find out who lasts and who blasts on the next Total Drama Pahkitew Island."


	8. Chapter 8 - Truth or Scare

The next morning felt strange, as Melody didn't feel tired at all even after all of yesterday's work, which surprised her. That surprise was further escalated that instead of her usual 7 am morning routine, she slept till 10. She wondered whether Chris started the challenge without her, and dressed quickly to check out the situation. To her shock Chris was still at home, and he was cooking, something she never expected for him to know how to do. It did feel right though. No one made her breakfast since her mother and that was a long time ago.

"Morning sleepy head."

"Morning Chris. Since when can you cook?"

"I feel hurt that you doubted me. Now eat up before we go wake up the campers, I've got something different for the campers today."

Melody looked at him suspiciously but all he did was smirk and gesture at the big table standing in the dining room. She wanted to question him further but the small growl emitted by her stomach promptly informed her of just how hungry she was. Cautiously she tried one of the pancakes and looked up in surprise when they turned out to be pretty good. She half expected expected them to be still raw inside, but instead they were cooked to perfection. It definitely impressed her. Sensing this the man before chuckled before indulging her in a pleasant conversation about the island. He didn't probe her and he didn't bring up the allergy question again for which she was thankful to him for.

After the breakfast pancakes, they made their way to the clearing where the next challenge would happen. On the way she stumbled over a hidden tree root, only being saved by Chris's quick thinking and reflexes. His hand didn't leave her for the rest of the journey, although he simply explained it as insurance that she wouldn't fall again. Her small hand fit perfectly into his big one, and it was warm so she didn't put up much of a fight. When they finally reached their destination, Melody noted that it didn't look like it usually would, in fact it changed quite a lot. There were now two big logs facing each other on opposite sides of the clearing and between them sat a scoreboard with some kind of lotto machine underneath that, containing all of the faces of the campers still in the game. She wondered how many interns were forced to work through the night to make sure everything was in place. Her mind was elsewhere but she still had enough sense to step away from Chris when she saw that he picked up a microphone.

"Morning campers. It's time to start today's fun activity, so get your butts over to the meeting area. Hahaha."

The players walked into the clearing, some of them having to drag themselves over, still hurting from the wounds they sustained earlier. On the left log sat Shawn, Dave, Sky, and Ella while on the right log sat Topher, Jasmine, Amy (Samy), Rodney, Scarlett and then Max, separated into their teams. Sugar was the last to come into the clearing still looking and Ella offered her the end of the log right next to her to sit down, clearly still under the impression that she and Sugar could still be friends. Instead of taking the seat, Sugar just pulled her to the ground and started shouting how the girls at the end always get less camera time. It seemed something to do with Beauty Pageants since that was what Sugar was obsessed about, but Melody couldn't be completely sure.

"Haha nice try Ella. Save your power plays for the game."

She frowned at Chris's words, slightly upset that anyone could see Ella as anything but sweet and nice. Her weak protests were easily drowned out by Chris as the rest of her team glared at her, making Melody only feel more sorry for the poor girl. All she wanted to do was make some friends, something Melody could relate to.

"It's time we separated the brave from the liars. The game it truth or scare."

"Hahaha, sounds nasty. Once again Chris you've delivered the goods. If I had a hat it would be off to you."

Instead of smiling as he usually did at the compliments, Chris simply scowled at Topher shuffling closer to her. It seemed that he still hadn't quite forgiven Topher for his previous remarks about his age and looks, which seemed to be a very sensitive subject for Chris. He seemed even more touchy about it after meeting Topher, probably seeing competition in him. It would certainly explain the glares they would send each other every time she saw them, wouldn't it?

"Yes thank you Topher. Now then every round a player is chosen at random. It also chooses if you'll be doing a truth or a scare. Halo means truth, flames mean scare. Get a scare and you'll have to perform a terrifying challenge."

Gasp erupted around the clearing, and Melody looked at Chris in worry and panic. He did say that today's challenge would be different, did that still mean that less Campers would be hurt? Seeing her distress at the thought of people getting hurt, he gave her reassuring wink, not noticing the way it made her knees wobble, someone else did though, someone who was now sending even more glares towards Chris.

"Don't worry, not all the scares will be scary. Some will be disgusting. In this case Amy's gotten a truth. This means she just has to answer a question honestly, but the answer will be revealing. It will expose a dark secret that could destroy her in the eyes of her newly found friends, or not what evs."

Sammy clearly gulped. She seemed to have the biggest secret out of all of the others, with her pretending to be Amy. What's worse, Melody had her suspicions that Chris was well aware of that fact, which would make keeping that secret only ten times harder than it would be normally. In fact, he probably designed this challenge for Sammy, to make her spill her secret.

"How will you know if we're telling the truth?"

"For that we spared no expense. Meet clucky the truth seeking chicke. No lie gets past this bird. She's former CIA and runs her own law firm 'Cluck Cluck and Bwcack'. If you have a secret this poultry polygraph will pluck it out."

Melody almost rolled her eyes at all the chicken puns Chris managed to sneak into those two sentences but managed to stop herself at the last moment. She watched as Clucky poofed up her feathers and landed on Chris's head surprising everyone about the fact that he didn't seem to be too bothered about the way she was messing up his hair. He treated that hair better that he would his own child.

"Completing a challenge or telling the truth gets your team a point. But if you fail a challenge or tell a lie, your whole team gets a shock."

"Erm what do you mean shock… also what are these metal collars Chef's putting on us?"

Melody looked cautiously at the collars that Chef was putting on the camper's necks, managing to figure out from the word shock and Chris's grin, what this particular challenge meant for the competitors. She just hoped that Chris didn't put them on the highest setting, though knowing him he probably found a way to make it hurt more than usual. She could say goodbye to her hopes of not treating anyone today evening.

"You just answered your question. Let me make it clearer."

Chef passed two remotes with two red buttons on them to Chris, who didn't even wait a moment before pressing them both. The shocks hitting the campers were enough to knock some of them off the logs from surprise, and make their hair stand up on end, slightly charred. It was definitely not a safe voltage he was using.

"You tested these right?"

"Yep. I just did and you're still alive, congrats."

Melody gasped in shock and glared at Chris in frustration. He knew he was using a high voltage and he didn't even test them before using them on live people? He could have killed them! She was well aware that his challenges could be violent, hence her presence here on the show, but she never suspected that he would go as far to risk killing them. Hearing her gasp Chris's eyes turned to her, but she turned away avoiding his gaze.

"Aw come on, don't be mad…"

Looking around Chris noted that all of the campers were still trying to pick themselves up and calm their hair, and so no one was looking at the two adults. Taking advantage of that and the fact that Melody was avoiding his gaze, he strode forwards and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, drawing her into his chest and making her gasp sharply. He could feel the warmth of her body seeping into his, and for a moment wished he could stay like this forever. Then again there was still the show that he had to consider, and he wouldn't allow Topher to make him look any less than the host he was.

"I'm sorry ok? How about this if you talk to me again I will let you read out all the truth questions."

That proposition snapped Melody out of her rapid thoughts, making her look up at him in astonishment. He took his job as host more seriously than anything, and the last time Topher asked to say something, Chris almost bit his head off. So why was he offering it to her? Chris seemed to read the silent question in her eyes and answered, but not without it's usual weight of arrogance.

"Ha got you to look at me. Anyways the producers like you and want you in the show more often. You always tend to stay behind the camera."

Melody could feel her heartbreak slightly at the reasoning behind his proposition, but promptly shook it off. She was stupid to think he could think any more of her than someone on his show, even a friend not to mention more. She steeled herself and nodded in agreement, putting on a fake smile, something Chris didn't seem to notice.

"Let's start the game. Amy…"

"Amy, who do you dislike the most?"

As soon as she asked the question, Clucky walked up to Sammy and jumped up onto her knee, watching her carefully. The girl in question started sweating profusely knowing that she had to say the truth, but at the same time not wanting to reveal her deepest secret. It took her a few seconds but eventually she blurted out the answer in a hurried panic.

"Ok, ok the person I hate the most is...Amy!"

Gasps sounded around the clearing as the campers realised the answer that Sammy gave, though still trying to figure out the meaning behind it. Chris grinned maniacally as clucky nodded, excited to cause more chaos between the different teams.

"Clucky says that was a truth."

"You hate yourself, deep."

Melody could tell that Chris was going to say something more, and tried to warn him about teasing her, but the host was ready for her attempt. His hand reached out and grabbed hers in full view of everybody in the clearing, making a scarlett blush appear on her face. If she caused a fuss now, everybody would see their hands and that was something she would be glad to avoid, so she stayed quiet only sending Chris a failed glare causing him to chuckle. Damn that man, he knew her too well for his own good.

"Care to explain _Amy_?"

"Well I erm…"

"I'll explain it."

"Jasmine no please."

"The truth is that Sammy is...not your fault Amy. Don't hate yourself for your sisters shortcomings. You did what you could."

"No one is blaming you for Sammy's weirdness."

"That girl was all bun and no hot dog."

"Reeks of failure."

"Eh ok ok enough. I feel much better, thank you."

Melody sighed in relief at Jasmine's interruption, although Chris seemed less pleased since no juicy secrets were revealed. Sammy herself seemed grateful to jasmine though the comments from the other campers clearly annoyed her. They still obviously believed the lies that her older sister told them, and with her 'absence' it only seemed to make her even more of a punching bag. Melody just hoped that Chris wouldn't push the topic further, since it would be much harder to get out of that situation a second time, people would get suspicious.

"Next we'll have Rodney doing another truth."

"The question is, in your opinion who is the most attractive girl on the island?"

"Eh could I get a different question. I can't hurt those gals like that, just look at those loving faces."

Poor Rodney. He still seemed to be under the impression that he was dating every single girl in his team, though Melody doubted whether they were aware of it. The man couldn't even talk straight with them, not to mention ask them out. His eyes skipped from one girl to the other desperately, trying to figure out what to do, in order not to hurt any of them.

"You're running out of time Rodney."

He stood still for another moment, still undecided until Sugar stood up indignantly and gave him another option. Her raised voice was enough to tell everyone that she saw herself as the most beautiful out of all of the other girls here.

"Duh, it's me!"

"Er, yes, perfect. It's Sugar."

Once the final decision was made, Clucky jumped over to Chris pressing her beak against one of the buttons. Rodney and everyone else on his team was shocked once again, their hair jumping back up to it's previous shocked look. It was pretty clear to everyone that Rodney had lied.

"Liar, liar, Rodney's on fire and by fire I mean electrocuted."

"That was truth check your chicken. Your chicken's broken!"

That made Clucky angry, and giving Sugar a glare she pecked the second button, effectively shocking Sugar and her team this time. Chris didn't protest, and in fact seemed happy that everyone was getting hurt and not just some people. Ella tried to brighten up the atmosphere slightly but only seemed to make it worse.

"I'm sure that Rodney thinks you're the second prettiest. No shame in that."

"What! I Ain't no runner up!"

"Oh goodness no. I was...I was only…"

"Calm down, and Ella stop picking fights Sugar."

"But I wasn't , I just…"

"Next Sky doing a scare. Sky, to earn a point, you will have to drink an entire jug of...mineral water."

"That's it? No problem."

"You have 30 seconds, go!"

To everyone's disappointment however, instead of taking big gulps, Sky started to drink the water in the jug in small sips, barely making a difference by the time the timer reached half of the designated time. Ever her team seemed to realise that she wouldn't win like that.

"What are you...really?"

"Oh dear, oh my oh my."

"I drink maple syrup faster than that!"

"15 seconds left."

"Sorry, this is as fast as I can go."

"I got this."

Shawn stood up and took the jug from Sky, starting to shake it back and forth and making it bubble. No one beside him seemed to know what he was doing though.

"Eh, what's the plan here?"

"No time, you want to win this or not?"

After finishing shaking the bottle, Shawn let go of the top making water spurt into Sky's mouth, violently knocking her clean off the log. She came back up having swallowed the water but looking extremely green. Her hair and clothes were soaked and it seemed that some of it even went up her nose.

"Half of it went up your nose but that still counts as drinking. Team Maskwak get's a point, with 10 seconds left on the clock. Well done Sky. Sky?"

Sky's bloated stomach rumbled threateningly, making everyone on her team move away from her as far as possible while staying on the log. Even the team sitting opposite her, opted to hide behind their own log in case she finally exploded. Her hand went to her face trying to stop being sick.

"It's a 1-1 tie, but it looks like a contestant might get blasted off the island early and we won't even need the cannon. Stay tuned to find out on Total Drama Pahkitew Island!"


	9. Chapter 9 - Who do you like?

The break was relaxed for once, as the interns, campers and the host mingled together to pass time. Melody was sitting on the log with Sammy, talking about the ways that she hid her personality to appear like her sister. The girl seemed worried that Chris knew her secret, but hopefully he wouldn't mention it again. Their conversation was interrupted by the topic of their conversation, as he called the older woman over to where he was standing a little way of the main clearing. Seeing Clucky on her head worried her about his purpose, but she also knew that there wasn't much choice. She might as well get this over now.

"What do you want Chris?"

"I just thought that we could play a game. 20 questions if you will but you can't lie. Clucky here will make sure that we are telling the truth."

"Why would I do that?"

"We need to get to know each other. We've been living in the same house for nearly a week now and we still don't know a lot about each other."

Melody looked at him suspiciously but shook it off. There wasn't anything top secret that she was trying to hide, and the game wouldn't last long enough to be damaging hopefully. She sighed in acceptance and sat down on her recliner, watching carefully as Chris took his beside her, with Clucky remaining firmly on his head.

"Ok fine but we only have about 5 minutes left before the show has to start again."

"I'll go first then. What's your full name?"

"Melody Aria Woods. Do you have any siblings?"

"Nope, but I do have a cousin called Jerd. You should meet him sometime. What's your favourite colour?"

"Blue, you?"

"Same. What's your allergy?"  
Melody's eyes narrowed at the question she had been avoiding, but the smirk on his face told her that she wouldn't be able to get out of it anymore especially now that he had a living lie detector with him. At first it seemed to her that he created this challenge to make Sammy suffer, but not she was realising that, that wasn't his only purpose in doing it.

"Shellfish. Where were you born?"

"Newfoundland. Now…"

His grin widened even further which she thought was just impossible, making her scoot away as far from him as she could. She looked at her watch in panic, only to be disappointed that they still had two minutes till the end of the break, plenty of time for Chris to ask her some personal questions.

"Who was your first kiss?"

Melody blushed and murmured something under her breath, unintangible to anyone but her. Chris though seemed gleeful at the scarlett blush on her cheeks and pushed forwards determined to get his answer.

"What was that?"  
"I said that I haven't had my first kiss yet."

"Really why?"

"No, that's a second question. It's my turn now. What's your favourite drink?"

"What no personal questions? Fine. Tomato juice, with hot chocolate being a close second. Well then why didn't you have your first kiss yet?"

"I was the geek in school. I preferred to go to the library than to parties. I wasn't very popular either, but that's not important. Which contestant did you dislike the most?"

"I would have to say that it was Ezekiel. He was a creep. Now…"

The pause for effect, instantly brought tension between them. melody stared at Chris uncertainly, slightly frightened of the question he was going to ask next, but unable to bring herself to end the game. She was finally learning something about the eccentric host.

"Who do you like on this island, and I don't mean as a friend. Who are you attracted to?"

Her eyes went wide at the question, not expecting him to go as far as to ask her that. What could she tell him? She couldn't very well tell him the truth that she liked him, it would just make things awkward between them. Then again she couldn't lie either, with Clucky still being present at the scene. The chicken would sniff out a lie from miles away. There had to be a third option to get out of this mess.

"Erm, I would love to answer that question but look at the time. We have to start the show again."

Melody stood up and rushed back towards the clearing, hoping that the presence of the other campers would discourage him from following her and carrying on the conversation. Unfortunately for her, two strong arms wrapped around her waist and held her back from going any further, his hot breath on her ear making her shiver slightly.

"You can run now, but I will find out eventually."

His tone made her shiver once more but she quickly shook it off,not wanting him to see the extent of the effect that he had on her. She felt his arms release her and when she looked back at his face, his sinister grin was replaced with the pleasant smile he only used for the cameras. Almost as if nothing had happened between them.

"Now everyone back to their seats. We can start the challenge with…"

He was interrupted by Sky's stomach which seemed to have only grown bigger during the short break, looking almost ready to burst. The campers took the safe road out by hiding behind their logs again, while Melody shuffled slightly behind Chri, hoping that if there was a blast, his body would protect her. He was certainly big enough to cover her small body, probably due to all of his muscles. If Chris noticed the action on her part, he didn't say anything preferring to instead watch Sky. When her mouth opened everyone hid, but all that came out was a small burp, disappointing the others in the clearing.

"Huh, I thought we'd get at least 10 feet of air."

"That's it? Come on, Chris is trying to put on an entertaining show here!"

Chris once again opted to ignore Topher, instead turning back to the small lotto machine and pulling the lever. This time it fell onto Max with another truth question. Chris passed Melody the small cards with the various questions designated for campers, and grinned sheepishly when she realised that the game was rigged all of this time. It certainly explained how Amy got such a personal question on her first go.

"Max, it's truth time."

"Max, for a point what do you fear most?"

"I fear nothing."

It didn't take long for Clucky to press his teams button, shocking all of them and not just Max. At this point in time most of the campers didn't bother doing their hair or clothes again, knowing that they would just likely get shocked judging by how much Chris was enjoying this game.

"Hahaha, not questioning your hosting skills Chris, but Max and Rodney lied, not the rest of us."

"Sorry, you're a package deal. Remember if one of you tells a lie you all pay the price. Now, next we have Dave doing a scare."

Dave seemed the only one that was excited about doing a scare, probably since he saw this as his chance of impressing Sky. Chris also seemed excited since he could finally present something again, seeing as she was doing all of the truth questions. He didn't seem to mind that much, but she didn't doubt that he would give over his hosting job to anyone any time soon. Looking at the bright side, at least it wasn't her job to shock all of the contestants.

"Alright Dave, there are scary scares, then there are scarier scares, and then there is this. For a point you must kiss a person next to you."

Dave looked around at the two people sitting next to him. The first one was Shawn who seemed to realise quickly what this might mean for him. He fled the scene screaming and waving his arms widely, desperate not to be kissed by a guy. That only left the other person which just so happened to be Sky, already blushing heavily. Melody didn't think that either of them really minded the challenge, and instead probably were happy that they got it.

"Well if it's for a point, I guess we may as well, I mean if we have to."

"Ok, I mean, we need to win this challenge so…"

"Right its not like…"

"Yeah, it's just two people…"

"Hey chitty chat chatters, the clock is ticking."

"Quit squawking and start pecking."

Both blushed heavily at the comment from Sugar and got closer together, closing their eyes slightly. Melody was so excited to see her ship sail that she didn't even notice when she grabbed Chris's hand from excitement. The man grinned at the attention, silently praising himself for coming up with such a scare for either Dave or Sky. If this is how Melody reacted then it was definitely worth it. They almost kissed when an enormous burp erupted from her mouth, blasting Dave off the log and effectively breaking up the tension that had managed to build itself up. It seemed that Dave was traumatised for life and Melody wouldn't get to see her ship kiss either.

"I can taste your burp in my eyes."

"Time's up and since your lips never actually touched…"

He looked at Clucky, who gleefully jumped onto the button, once again shocking the entire team. It seemed that the chicken enjoyed this as much as Chris. She wondered where he found Clucky, and also how in the world did a chicken own a Detective agency?

"Sorry guys, it must have been the mineral water."

"Next up Shawn doing a scare. For the point you must pick your nose and wipe it on the person sitting next to you."

Shawn was back in his seat by this time, and unfortunately for Dave, he was the only one sitting next to him. It took a minute for Dave to realise the trouble he was in, but the moment he did, he didn't waste any time in attempting his escape. Unfortunately for him, Shawn was experienced in running from his zombie training, something that came in useful in cutting off Dave's escape as soon as he managed to get up.

"No, no…"

"Snot cannon, fire!"

Shawn blocked up one of his nostrils, blowing with everything he had out of the other one. An eruption of snot headed for poor Dave, covering him from top to bottom in the green slimy substance, making him shake in terror. Melody was really glad at that point, that she wasn't on the receiving end. She couldn't begin imagining how hard it would be to wash off all of that.

"Wow, you are way too good at that."

"Yep, I'm ok. Not freaking out."

"Impressive barrage Shawn but I'm afraid you were supposed to pick and wipe not rocket. Also you only needed to get the person next to you and not your whole team."

Melody looked to where Chris was pointing, surprised to see Shawn's entire team covered in the same substance that Dave was currently trying to rub off his clothes. It was certainly a curious skill to posses, and she couldn't think of a situation where it might come in useful. Clucky didn't hesitate before pressing the button, once again shocking the entire team.

"At least it fried the snot off."

The ever positive Ella. It seemed that it was her turn to go next, and she smiled as Clucky landed on her lap. She didn't seem at all scared, something constantly shown by her peers throughout this challenge.

"Well hello my feathered friend."

"Ella, if you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?"

"I would change whatever is stopping Sugar and I from becoming the best of friends."

Melody awed at the adorable answer. She was joined by everybody else except Chris who was just grinning and Sugar who seemed to take the answer as a personal insult if her glower had anything to do with her current mood.

"I firmly believe we were meant to be close."

"I firmly believe, I firmly believe! That's pageant talk, my talk, you're going down!"

With that said, Sugar launched herself at Ella, both of them tumbling to the ground in a flurry of fists. Ella was simply lying there and covering her face as Sugar did everything she could to hit her. It took both Shawn and Dave pooling their strength together to pull Sugar off her, her screaming however still managing to scare Clucky. The chicken jumped into Melody's arms attempting to use her body to protect herself from Sugar's wrath. Chris was definitely not happy that his lie detector was scared, shocking the team into submission.

"What was that for?"  
"For scaring Clucky, and after what Ella just pulled, I can only assume her answer was a lie."

Melody and Ella both stared in shock at his decision, both knowing full well that the answer was the truth and not a lie. It seemed however that the current bad mood Chris was in prevented him from even considering either of their opinions at this point.

"Lie, but I…"

"Enough."

A shock passed though the team once again, but this time to ensure that Ella stayed quiet. It was successful as any other protests or complaints were effectively silenced, everyone fearing another shock.

"From here on in I will suggest better team play. Maybe then the score will get higher than 1-1. Remember what's at stake. The losing team will be sending someone home, and I think I know who will be sent home is team Maskwak loses. But hey anything can happen It's on to the lightning round."

The lightning round was even more brutal than the previous one, spitting out tough questions and scares like it was the end of the entire show. Sky was up first with a scare to put braces on a beaver. melody ended up using an entire roll of bandages to stop the bleeding but Sky managed to do it in the end, awarding her team with one point. Rodney was up next getting another truth question.

"If you could save one teammate who would it be?"

He looked around panicked, but like before he didn't manage to answer truthfully before Clucky got to the button designated for his team, shocking them all. Scarlett was up next with a scare. She was meant to beautify a grizzly bear which she did with absolutely no problem at all, even managing to make it look pretty good. Jasmine also managed to do her scare, which consisted of feeding an iguana with her mouth, without too much problems, although they did have to pull the animal away from her face. Unfortunate Rodney was up again for the third time in this challenge with another truth question. He didn't even bother with it this time, giving up straight away and costing his team another shock. After him it was Sugar's turn with a scare, and everyone watched as Chef approached her with a silver platter containing one live tarantula.

"To get a point you must take this live tarantula and…"

He paused in his explanation and watched unbelievingly as Sugar simply grabbed the tarantula from the platter and swallowed it, without showing any discomfort or disgust. Everyone stared at her gobsmacked,b Melody especially. She always had a big dislike for spiders and watching now as Sugar ate a big hairy spider like that, made her want to hurl in the bushes next to her.

"Whoa, all you had to do was pet it!"

"Oh, does this count?"

She rubbed her stomach in a circular motion looking at Chris, who just shrugged unconvincingly. It seemed that even he didn't know what to say about the event they just witnessed.

"Yeah, close enough. Team Maskwak gets a point. After all this pain and anguish you're still tied. Makes it seem like it was all for nothing. While I could do this all day, seriously I mean these are awesome, it's time for the game to end. Right after the sudden death round."

This revelation caused gasps from both sides of the clearing, probably due to the overly scary name of the new game. Topher didn't seem to have any praises this time, but it was no surprise counting how many times he managed to get shocked today.

"A player from each team will go head to head in a duel challenge. Winners team gets immunity, losers team gets shocked and sends someone home. The first player is Rodney."

"Not again."

"Hey this is for the game, let's show some support."

"Egh, fine. We believe in you...you blubbering buffoon."

"Please not another truth question, please."

"Rodney, in the sudden death round there are no truths, only scares."

"Really, wahoo! In your face chicken, you can never shock me again and guess what. I live on a farm and I eat 6 eggs a day. 6 delicious eggs."

Melody covered her mouth in shock as Clucky struggled in her arms. Her anger fueled her strength and she managed to free herself, before launching her body at Rodney, aiming with her beak for his face. Luckily for him, Chris managed to catch the chicken in time, passing her back to Melody who had a tighter grip this time. After all Chris had to carry on the show, even if his lie detector was now mentally unstable.

"Easy clucky keep it professional. For team Maskwak it will be Ella."

"Bring on the scares!"

"Erm, yes...bring them please."

"The game is simple. In each of these bags you will find the opposing team's shock remote. First to untie the tightly knotted string, get the remote and shock the opposition wins the day. GO!"

Each team cheered on their own competitor except Sugar who decided to cheer on Rodney which caused her several angry looks from her own team. No one wanted to lose the challenge and get shocked, though it seemed that Sugar just didn't care anymore.

"My fingers are too darn big."

"I undid mine easily enough. Would you like some help?"

"Ella just press the button and your team wins."

"Oh I can't. It's just too mean. Honestly, who could do such a thing."

Everyone's thoughts immediately went to Chris, though it wasn't him that ended the game this time. In the excitement Melody loosened her grip, allowing Clucky another escape. This time instead of throwing herself at the cause of her anger, she flew at the button knocking it out of Ella's hands. She started jumping up and down on it, continuously shocking Rodney and his team.

"Clucky no, he's not worth it!"

That finally managed to get clucky to stop, though her frazzled state showed more than enough of her mental state. It really seemed that what Rodney said to her scarred her for life. Chef had to have her restrained complete with a beak gag and ended up wheeling her out of the clearing everyone was in as quickly as he could.

"What an interesting day. Team Maskwak as winners of the truth and scare you gain immunity. You also get this week's fast food delivery, courtesy of Humpty Dumpty's meat shack. At Humpty's all the king's horses feed all the king's men or if you want Chef's making chicken. Team Kinosewak time to vote one of you off the island."

The teams dispersed. There was no doubt in anyone's mind who was getting eliminated today. As soon as the two of them were alone, Chris grinned at Melody, that mischievous look in his dark eyes coming back. She knew she was in trouble.

"Come on who on the island is it?"

"No one you need to know about."

"So he is on the island, if it is a he at all?"

"What! Of course he is!"

Melody's face went beet red at what Chris was suggesting, shivering at the image. She had nothing against people who preferred people of the same sex, but she couldn't imagine herself like that. Besides didn't her crush on Chris prove her orientation? She decided to ignore him from that moment, though he didn't seem to worried. In fact he seemed deep in thought, a look she didn't often see on him.

"The following team Kinosewak members are safe: Topher, Jasmine, Max and Amy. Rodney, you could be going home because you caused your team to be shocked repeatedly by failing to tell the simple truth. Scarlett, you could be going home because, well cose you, erm, fine it's Rodney, eat up."

Soon enough Rodney was stuffed unceremoniously into the cannon and ready to be fired into the ocean. He didn't seemed to be too shocked at the decision unlike some of the previous competitors.

"I'm not surprised that I'm the one leaving. After playing with people's hearts the way I did…"

"If you mean restarting them several times, then yes."

"But since I'm leaving I may as well come clean. Jasmine, Scarlett, Amy, please understand. This that you, I mean, it's, there's love and raccoon poop and hey with all this shocking, bwca, because chicken I love, girl island 3, oh oh, yeah…"

"Hold that thought."

Instead of listening to his entire weird speech, Chris pressed the button shooting Rodney far into the distance without much regret.

"I thinks I just sunk someone's battleship. 10 players left, find out which 9 get to hand while one goes bang next time on Total Drama Pakhitew Island!"


	10. Chapter 10 - Smash, Splash, 1 2 3 Dash

Melody didn't sleep well that night, her thoughts still lingering on the what ifs. What if Chris asked her that question? What if he would out the truth? She couldn't tell him the truth, but at the same time she couldn't lie either. She read enough romance novels to know that lying to your crush never ended up well. It didn't let her sleep till the early hours of morning, and that was not enough for a young woman. She managed to get a total of 3 hours of sleep before her alarm clock woke her up and forced her out of bed. Dressing quickly she went downstairs, where no sign of life could be seen. She knew she wasn't late. Chris and Chef probably got an early start this morning. WIth no need to make breakfast, she simply made herself some toast before heading out to the forest. On the way she met Topher who fortunately knew the right way, towards the lake docks. It seemed that she had managed to sleep through one of Chris's announcements. Topher must have noticed her bleary eyes and yawns because he stopped halfway to their destination.

"You seem tired."

"Yeah, didn't have much sleep yesterday, too much thinking about things."

He considered the situation for a minute before kneeling down in front of her, with his back facing her.

"Come on I'll give you a piggyback then, and don't you even think to argue. You look ready to fall asleep at any moment."

Melody was about to do just that but stopped at his comment and smiled. He really did know her well. She got on his back slowly, squealing in laughter as he picked her up without much difficulty, laughing along with her.

"Are you sure that I'm not too heavy?"

"Girl you weigh less than a feather."

She giggled at his confidence and clung to him, her head laying on his shoulder and her eyes closing. It almost made her feel like she was back in bed. However before she could fall asleep, the two of them reached their destination, where any thoughts of sleep were knocked out of her. Topher gasped at the sight as Melody's mouth fell open, both of their eyes focused on one person. Chris's face was not only shaped in a permanent smile now, but it was glowing brightly. It didn't help much that Chef was holding a picture of a sunset behind Chris's head and using a fan to make his hair sway in the breeze. It was certainly a surprise.

"Wow"

Melody was with Topher on that aspect. No wonder Chris wasn't there this morning. Just what had he done to his face to make it look like that?

"Ok that's enough, cut the effects Chef."

"Chris, you look...different today."

"Just my natural youth shining through."

"No, no you did something. Oxygen sleep chamber?"

"No"

"Hydrochloric acid peel?"

"No"

"Lasting protein tablets? Antioxidant firming serum?"

"No and nope."

"What's the challenge? We got to make up a cooky word?"

The other campers arrived right at the strange exchange, the big words puzzling Sugar, although even Melody had trouble keeping up. She proceeded to make up several sounds that definitely did not fit together, only further puzzling the other campers. Only Ella seemed excited at the prospect for some reason.

"Great job Sugar. My turn. Eh, cat...you're so much better at this than I am!"

Ella's attempt to placate Sugar after yesterday's trouble was interrupted by Chris blowing the horn, impatient to start the challenge.

"Silence. Today we will be laughing as you risk your lives in the Smash, splas dash. Players have to cross the beams, grab a dueling stick from the end of the dock and bring it back onto your own board. Two dueling sticks make an X. 3 X's wins the challenge."

"I have a diabolical scheme for…"

"Anyone who messes with the other team's sticks will result in them losing the challenge."

"Never mind."

"Only one member per team may cross at a time. If you land in the lake that turn gets you no points, so use that sueling stick to swipe, trip, or bat your opponents into the water. This will be awesome to see."

"What is your fascination with seeing us hurt each other?"

Everyone looked at Sammy suspiciously, causing her to remember the fact that she was pretending to he her much meaner sister. It seemed that she wasn't such a good actress as Melody thought. Fortunately for her Jasmine was there to make her realise her mistake, causing her to rephrase her phrase.

"If anyone gets my hair wet, they are dead."

"Any particular order we go in?"

"You decide your own order but each team member must go at least once."

"Erm, where is Shawn?"

"He's probably lost in the woods. You know how this island can get, confusing. Go find him would you?"

Chris motioned to the forest, Chef following the sign nodding silently in agreement. Turning towards her next, Chris held out his hand towards her, his eyes showing slight annoyance.

"Coming?"

Topher kneeled on the ground, allowing her to climb of his back without having to jump the distance to the ground. Melody gave him a hug in thanks before heading towards Chris. She used his outstretched hand to climb onto his yacht, his hand lingering for longer than it should have. Then again it could have been just her imagination. The boat took them to an isolated deck where two deck chairs and an umbrella were already waiting for them. Chef dropped them off there before heading further into the island, looking for the missing camper. Out of all of the campers, Jasmine seemed the only one seemingly worried about Shawn despite the fact that he wasn't even on her team. Melody found that cute, already imagining them together.

"Well if he doesn't get here on time to do his turn he's got an automatic date with the cannon, plus another player on the team will be danzo, and that means Maskwak loses 2 tonight. It's game time. Swim to your docks and await my signal to start. Go!"

By the time the campers reached their docks, Melody and Chris were already Comfortably seated and ready for the challenge. The first two people to compete were Dave and Topher, both determined to get a stick. However it seemed that Topher seemed more preoccupied with something else, aka. himself.

"Looks like Topher is a natural in both the talent and the beauty department. Like a younger version of a famous host we all know and…"

Chris however did not seem to appreciate Topher trying to take over his job again, blowing the air horn in order to interrupt his speech. Everybody could tell where it was heading anyway.

"Next the narration Toph."

Both of the guys managed to get their dueling sticks and ran at each other screaming war cries. Instead of clashing like everyone expected, they simply ran past each other, reaching their dock with their dueling sticks. It only served to frustrate Chris further.

"Seriously! Start hurting each other or I'll get bored and that will be bad news for all of you."

It was Sammy and Sugar facing off next, and they actually managed to get into a fight. Their dueling sticks clashed together as each girl was shouting confusing insults at the other. It seemed that Sammy was pretending that Sugar was Amy, while Sugar was imaging hitting Ella. Even with the continuous smacking and screaming at each other, Chris still wasn't satisfied.

"A little better but I'm still bored. Release scuba bear."

"Release what now?"

Her question was answered in the form of an actual grizzly bear emerging from the lake and wearing scuba gear. In his anger, he managed to swipe Sugar off the dock and into the water, although Sammy managed to evade the hits directed at her. She ran back to her dock and formed the first X for her team. The bear did the 'I watching you' motion to both teams before putting the scuba mask back on his muzzle and returning to the lake.

"Amy completes team Kinosewak's first X!"

The next competitors were Ella and Max, though Ella's positive spirit was very different from the evil mood that Max was in.

"Hello over there."

"You're closer to doom than you realise!"

Both Melody and Chris watched curiously as Max wrapped a small copper wire around the metal part of his dueling stick, before grabbing it by one of the rubber ends. It didn't seem to have much of an effect on Ella untill Scarlett threw an electric eel at him, immediately pretending that she had no idea where it came from. The eel attached itself to the wire covered metal handle, and was conducted to Ella, effectively shocking her off the deck and into the water. Max reached his own team gaining them a point, while Ella's team gasped in worry and tried to locate her in the water. That is everyone was worried except Sugar, who in fact seemed to be enjoying the whole experience of watching her nemesis in pain.

"Looks like Max just found his mojo."

"Evil mojo!"

"So Maskwak gets zipped or should I say zapped and Max adds to team Kinosewak's lead. Will team Maskwak crawl their way back?"

His break speech was interrupted by Ella surfacing next to their deck, looking very dazed. She clung to the deck limply and turned to look at Melody.

"Do you know where I can find the white rabbit?"

That was the only thing she managed to say before getting dizzy again and falling back into the water.

"Sounds like a no, but see for yourself after the break, right here on Total Drama Pakhitew Island!"

The break seemed like the perfect time to take a swim, something Melody was looking forward to throughout the entire challenge. The water was clear and crystallic, almost as clean as a swimming pool, besides it would help to wake her up. It was a good idea to wear her bikini under her clothes after all. She stripped her clothes, only then remembering that she had an audience, formed from some very flushed boys and a googly eyed host. Flushing in embarrassment she dove under the water attempting to hide her body from the onlookers. She swam to the Maskwak dock where Sky was still trying to pull the dazed Ella onto the dock, helping her by pushing the dizzy team up onto the wooden structure. She smiled at the two before diving back under the clear water and swimming back to her chair. Pushing herself back onto the deck she dried herself before wrapping the towel around her to add more cover and sat down on her seat. She noted that Chris was staring at her, though he looked away when she met his eyea.

"Just out of curiosity, can you stop smiling or is it stuck there for ever."

"Why, is my smile too handsome for you too look at it?"

"No it just looks funny when you frown but smile at the same time."

A small frown appeared on his face before he quickly shook it off, remembering what she had just said about his frowns. Melody felt slightly bad but she couldn't tell why. She didn't say anything bad did she?

"So what was that with you and Topher today. Are we looking at a new couple?"

"What? of course not. I was just really tired. I didn't get much sleep tonight. It's why I went swimming. I didn't want to fall asleep halfway through the challenge and the water wakes me up."

He nodded but still seemed a bit down, turning away from her face. Melody shrugged at his weird behaviour before relaxing on his chair. She needed all of the rest she could get, especially if Scuba bear made any more appearances, and knowing Chris's mind, he most definitely would.


	11. Chapter 11 - Heaven

After the break, it was Sky and Scarlett battling first, their emotions seeming to get better of them as they threw insults at each other. Scarlett concentrated especially on making Sky feel even worse, the former teen still furious at what Scarlett and Max did to Ella. Scarlett was unfortunately able to use that anger to bait Sky into attempting to hit her with all of her force. Instead of blocking the hit, Scarlett simply slid underneath straight to safety, gaining her team another point. Sky however wasn't as lucky, her momentum propelling her forwards and sending her into the water.

"Scarlett makes it back to complete the second X, and now it's Dave's turn to go up against team Kinosewak's most capable player. Hahaha. This is going to end badly."

The duel did not go as Chris planned though, as Jasmine simply stopped after a few steps, looking into the forest whether she could see Shawn yet, not even bothering to get a dueling stick. She was so preoccupied with her worried thoughts that she didn't even seem to notice that Chris was talking or the fact that she was supposed to be competing in a challenge.

"Hello, Jasmine? Time to put some Dave on the barbecue."

In the end what woke her up was a strong hit from Dave's dueling stick which knocked her straight into the water with no resistance gaining another point for his team. Who knew such a little guy had so much strength?

"Team Maskwak makes their first X, so the're now only 100% behind the competition, and still no sign of zombie fighter Shawn."

During the next round, it was Sky who gained a dueling stick for her team bringing them up to three sticks, however so did the opposing team who now needed only one more stick to win. That final point was almost scored by Max who faced off against Ella again, however his victory was interrupted by Scuba bear reemerging from the lake once more and abruptly sending him into the water. It seemed that Ella was his next target, however her singing saved her again, as placated the bear.

"No, I've had it with the singing and the taming of the animals. Scuba bear do your job and eat the girl!"

Angry, Chris threw his coconut drink at Scuba bear, hitting him directly on the head, and although it was an impressive throw, it was one of Chris's less bright decisions. The hit knocked the bear out of its trance and directed it's anger at the host instead of Ella like Chris wanted all along. It dived under the water with a glare causing Chris to sigh in relief, only to burst through their deck and go after Chris. The panicked host climbed onto the umbrella and screamed in fright, as Melody was knocked into the water. She spluttered as she came up, and watched in fear as the bear tried to shake Chris off the umbrella. The only one who didn't seem bothered was Topher, though she could still see some sneaky smiles from the other campers, especially since Ella managed to get another point for her team.

"Chris, you want me to throw another commercial? Scream if you do!"

Seeing as Chris didn't stop screaming, Topher was about to continue trying to steal his job, when he was interrupted by the return of Chef. With him was Shawn although it was almost impossible to recognise him from under all of that green gunk and banana peels, though it was the smell that made the worst impression. Melody could smell it all the way from her place in the water and that was some achievement. Their arrival and the loud engine of the yacht scared the bear away, allowing Chris to climb down and shake himself off. He helped Melody to climb on the deck again, which now had a massive gaping hole in the middle, though he seemed to be ignoring it.

"Pretending that didn't happen. Shawn is back and looking crazy. Team Kinosewak is one dueling stick away from a win. Maskwaks get Shawn in the game or he's gone."

"Game?! This ain't no game crazy man, it's life and death."

Melody couldn't stop herself from giggling at what Shawn said, making Chris look at her in confusion as to what was so funny.

"He called you crazy."

He sighed in defeat and shook his head, but she could still see the small smile that appeared on his face. Team Maskwak followed Chris's advice as soon as they could, sending up Shawn against Jasmine, in an attempt to score the two remaining points they needed. They both got a dueling stick but when it came to actual combat, it seemed that Jasmine was willing to miss for purpose to make sure that Shawn was ok. That philosophy was not shared by the boy in question, who delivered a powerful hit to the teens face, knocking her promptly off the deck with no place for mercy. Shawn ran back to his team with his point, only then realising the trouble he got himself into.

"What's wrong with you?!"

"Erm, she's not a zombie…"

Melody sighed in frustration at the two, slowly turning to face Chris and Chef, with a depressed look in her eyes.

"Well there goes any chance of getting them together."

Chris was about to encourage her, he found her shipping of campers cute, however he was interrupted by a low growling sound coming from under the deck, shocking everyone into silence.

"What was that noise?"

Melody and Chef shrugged at the question, puzzled as much as Chris was. It was what Melody liked the most about this show. Sometimes things happened that even Chris didn't have a clue about, keeping things interesting despite the numerous seasons.

"Tie game. Next dueling stick on the board is for the win!"

It was Sammy against Sugar once again, though the challenge did not go as expected. Neither girl even managed to even get her dueling stick when something green and slimy looking jumped out from the water and landed in Sammy's way. It was only under careful inspection that anyone recognised the other Twin in the mess, her face drawn into a snarl. Sammy stopped in shock, disbelieving the sight in front of her, alongside everyone else. It reminded Chris too much of Ezekiel again, someone he absolutely never wanted to think about again.

"Amy?"

"Sammy."

"Er, what e?"

"You'll pay for this Sammy!"

The two girls threw themselves at each other tumbling around the deck, each trying to do the most damage she could to the other twin. While Sammy managed to keep a hold on Amy's hand and was pulling her hair, Amy's free hand was on Sammy's face pushing it away with all strength. They seemed to be at a standstill.

"Just like you always make me pay when we when we go to the movies?"

"Eh, you're just lucky I let you sit behind me!"

"You're lucky I don't tell anyone that you still suck your thumb!"

"You're the worst sister ever!"

"Team Maskwak wins!"

"What?"

Their petty argument was interrupted by Chris's announcement and forced the twins to look around them. Using their distraction, Sugar managed to acquire her dueling stick and bring it back to her team, finishing the three X's her team needed to win the challenge. The two teams swam back to the beach where team Kinosewak headed for the elimination area, the two twins continuing to bicker. Melody wanted to go back to the manor, the stress and exhaustion of the day hitting her now that the excitement died down, but unfortunately for her Chris insisted that she sees all of the eliminations left which meant that her day was about to get longer. Luckily the yacht took them most of the way there which at least save her using her legs too much, which had fallen asleep.

"To the victors go the spoils, compliments of Spoil's second hand food. Where one man's trash is another man's tapeworm. Think fast, oh and Ella?"

"Yes?"

"You sing again, you're off the show, got it? Good. Now one of you gots to go. Max, Topher and Scarlett you're safe. Jasmine, you had a chance to win it for your team but you let your emotions cloud your mind and stop your intimidating physique from doing it's job."

Jasmine stood up looking defeated and ready to be fired from the cannon. Melody really did feel sorry for her, especially since she knew a thing or two about unrequited love. Shawn didn't know what a wonderful girl he has missed his chance with.

"Eh let's get this over with."

"Hopefully you learned from the mistake, you're safe."

"What?"

"Which means that…"

"That means that Sammy as in her has to go again right?"

Sammy stood up pointing at Amy, seeming desperate to stay on the island away from her sister to the point where she was pretending to be someone else again.

"Ergh, I'm Amy. How could anyone think that was me? Sammy is a ball of mush and I'm a 'perfekt' which is German for perfect!"

"So what's German for bossy blonde cow?"

This final remark caused Amy's already thinning patience to snap, and she threw herself at her sister again, smacking her down on the dirt ground, both once again trying to get the upper hand in their fight.

"Shush which is polite for shut it. I do not care who's who, know why? Because this time you're both going into the cannon."

The two twins attempted to argue with the host, but he was having none of it, ordering Chef to stuff them both into the cannon. He had already eliminated the wrong twin once and look at the commotion it caused. He wasn't going to make that same mistake again. Realising that they couldn't get out of this situation the girls decided to just sort it out between themselves by continuing to throw insults and pulling each other's hair. Melody was sad that Sammy had to go, the two girls had managed to become good friends, but at least she had stood up to her sister. Besides they swapped numbers so they could always talk over the phone if need be.

"To make it fair maybe Sammy should come out first this time."

With that said Chris finally pushed the button and we all watched as the two girls flew away screaming, and still not stopping their insults to each other. Melody really hoped that they could work it out one day. Family was too important to forget like that.

"So nice to see family traveling together. Want to know who's next to be going home? It won't be long, right here on Total Drama Pakhitew Island!"

She almost screamed in relief as Chris closed the show, her mind screaming for her to get to her bed and sleep. Chris noticed her exhausted form when she almost tripped over a tree root and he had to hold her up. She could honestly play one of Shawn's zombies in her current state. SIghing, he picked her gently and carried her bridal style, ignoring her feeble protests. After a few more minutes Melody finally gave up and placed her head on his chest, his heart beat lulling her to sleep. She could always tell him off tomorrow.

Chris watched silently as Melody slept in his arms, walking as slowly as he possibly could to their house. He knew well that he could have taken the yacht most of the way, but he wanted to spend as much time as he could with the beautiful woman in his arms, even if she was asleep. Hi mind was far away tough, focusing on the one question that had been bothering him for a while, who did she like? At first he had been confident that it was him, but after this morning with Topher, he wasn't too sure anymore. He always managed to make her laugh and smile while all Chris seemed to be able to do is make you frown and frustrated. Maybe was was just grasping at straws with his hope? It certainly felt like it. This desperation was new to him. He never had problems with girls before, so now that he found the perfect one why did the world turn against him?

Chris reached the mansion, carefully opening the door and carrying her in as silently as he could so as not wake her. Hi mind immediately thought of the wedding tradition of carrying your wife over the threshold, but shook it out as soon as it came. This was not the time to be dreaming, especially not if she had no feelings for him. He walked upstairs to her room, delicately placing her on her queen sized bed, moving a lock of hair from her eyes. He considered changing her into pajamas, but he didn't want to risk her considering him a pervert. It would only inhibit his plan to win her over. He placed the duvet over her small body and got up to leave, when a small hand stopped him. Her fingers were grasped onto his shirt in a death grip, refusing to let him go anywhere.

He didn't want to wake her, which would happen if he tried to release her grip, so the only option left for him was to spend the night with her not that he was complaining. He slid gently under the cover beside her, the sudden new warmth causing her to curl into his chest. Chris let out a small chuckle before closing his arms around her and bringing her even closer to him, reveling in the scent of strawberries that hung around her. He wished everyday could be like this, his nights were getting lonely lately and he had no doubt that it was this girl's fault. Fate would be lucky to him however if he could survive the next night, only imagining her wrath scared him. Oh well, that was a thought for tomorrow, right now he immersed himself further into his own personal heaven, desperate for this moment to stay forever.


	12. Chapter 12 - Monkey Do

As the sun filtered in through the great glass windows, Melody tried to remember when she had felt so well rested before, but came up with nothing. If she could stay like this forever she would, although a part of her mind was still curious as to the reasoning behind it. She ignored it and snuggled further into the warmth emanating from beside her, the source of it reacting to her movement and tightening its grip around her. It took her sleepy brain a couple of minutes to realise that generally pillows didn't generate this much heat, and they definitely didn't move. Her eyes blinked open slowly, shutting slowly in confusion at the position she found herself in. Chris was laying beside her, or more below her depending on someone's perspective. Her head was using his chest as a pillow, while her legs were tangled together. His arms were unconsciously holding her tightly to him, almost as if she was his lifeline.  
To Melody's utter relief, upon further investigation she discovered that both of them were still wearing their clothes from yesterday, though they would need a good ironing. She wracked her brain as to how they ended up in this position, but the last thing she could remember was falling asleep in Chris's arms after the eliminations. Did he bring her here? But if that was the case then what was he doing in bed with her? Looking back at Chris she noted that instead of his normally perfect hair he had a cute bedhead, and that he let out small snores as he slept, something he would no doubt deny. His peaceful look almost persuaded her to let him sleep, but it was morning and he would need time to prepare for the next challenge if he wanted to keep his position as the host of this show. She tried to get up, but anytime she made any progress, Chris would notice and pull her back into his hard chest.

"Chis. Chris! It's time to wake up."

He whined slightly and opened his eyes, taking his time to get to the sunlight. Once he woke up, he noticed the position they were in, with Melody hovering over him and his arms around her, holding her to him. He stared at her trying to figure out whether this was another dream or whether he simply went to heaven. Either way he wanted to savour this moment. Melody's face went bright red as he wouldn't stop watching her face, and coughed awkwardly.

"Could you let me go? I have to get ready for the next challenge."

Instead of letting her go like she expected, he simply grinned and brought her back to him, unwilling to release her just jet. This moment would have been perfect had Melody's brain not reminded her that he was just teasing her. He had no feelings for her. It was just teasing.

"But you're so warm and comfy…!"

"I need to shower and make breakfast. You're not going to get any if you refuse to let me go. Besides you still have to explain why you were in my bed."

"Fine, I'll meet you downstairs."

Shaking off the cold feeling of Chris's absence, Melody took a quick shower before throwing on her usual clothes. If she was to survive this island, she had to make sure that she stopped situations like this morning. She wasn't planning on a heart attack so early in her life. Walking downstairs, she found Chris leaning his head on his arms looking bored out of his mind. He didn't even seem to be bothered enough to make breakfast, not to mention doing anything more active. He perked up though when she walked into the kitchen, an expectant look on his face. When she didn't seem to understand his gaze, it turned more into a pout, breaking through her defences.

"Fine I'll make you some too. Now while I'm cooking please explain why you were in my bed?"

"Oh that's simple. You were so tired after yesterday that I had to carry you back to your bed after the eliminations. When I tried to leave you refused to let me go, and I was seriously too sleepy at that point to care about it much. You seemed to have enjoyed though, didn't you."

"What no…!"

A blush rose to her face and she turned away from him to attempt to hide it. It didn't work particularly well. Fortunately enough, she managed to quiet his chuckles down with the threat of not making breakfast. She watched in amusement as he wolfed down the stack of fluffy pancakes she produced, putting chocolate and cream on her own. When asked about his appetite,his explanation was that she tired him out yesterday, earning him a slap on the back of the head and another round of blushing.

When they finished, they walked together to the usual clearing, chatting idly about everything and anything. It was nice to spend time with him like this, without having to watch him humiliate the contestants. He seemed more genuinely happy and content in these moments. The clearing seemed to have changed again, to accommodate the next challenge. The two logs that were there during the truth and scare challenge were still there, however the lotto machine used to pick out unsuspecting campers was replaced by a vending machine. The food inside ranged from chocolate bars and crisps to Chef's fish cookies which were promoted during an episode of the World Tour season. It seemed that Chris had a knack of using things from previous episodes into new ones, almost like an easter egg hunt for the viewers. Melody waited by the machine looking at the various treats, while Chris walked up to his megaphone planning to wake up the contestants.

"Hey teams. Proceed to the meeting area. It's time for me to laugh at your pain. There will also be a challenge."

The two of them watched as the campers filed in, most of them seeming well rested, probably due to the late hour at which the two of them woke up. They sat back into their teams on the logs, waiting for a couple of late ones including Shawn, Dave and Ella. The rest seemed to do them well, especially Jasmine who once again became more interested in her surroundings.

"Hey something's weird about this island. Those trees were closer yesterday and that mountain wasn't there before."

Looking around, Melody could see what she meant. She didn't remember a massive snowy mountain in the background before, and the trees did in fact seem closer. It brought to mind the comment that she overheard from Shawn during the last challenge about a disappearing waterfall. Judging from the look of Chris's face, he was hiding something though she doubted that he would reveal it any time soon.

"And I'm 100% sure you are a few koalas short of a swarm."

"A swarm of Koalas?"

"Cuckoo clock"

"No really, something's not right…"

Sugar started to make wavy motions to indicate that someone was dropped on their head, though with her thought span she wasn't entirely sure whether it was directed at Chris or at Jasmine. Not tha it mattered as the subject was dropped when Shawn burst into the clearing. He clutched a bouquet of yellow wildflowers, heading straight towards Jasmine.

"Jasmine I need to tell you how I feel."

Jasmine though didn't give him time to speak, the anger still evident on her face. She stood up towering over the now terrified boy, knocking the flowers from his hand and onto the ground. It was pretty clear to everyone that she hadn't even began to forgive him for what he did during the last challenge. She had to come to the medical tent to get something to make the bruise on her face disappear, something no girl should have to do.

"Me first, I want you to stay away from me. Are we clear?"

Shawn could only gulp and nodd in fear, not surprising Melody. Jasmine with her tall stature could be quite intimidating to others, especially shorter people like Shawn. Melody felt sorry for him but at the same time she felt that he got what he deserved. If you wanted a good relationship, you needed to put your girlfriend above zombies, otherwise there would be arguments. Chris seemed unamused at the drama unfurling on his show, waiting impatiently for the others to appear.

"I'm giving Ella and Dave one more minute, then there cannon food."

Chris's sudden bad mood was only worsened by the appearance of Topher, who like usual wore a big grin on his face. Melody liked him, but even she had to admit that his efforts to make Chris look bad were tiring. He wanted something that he would never get.

"Hey while we're waiting you and me can have a host off."

"Hey thats a...terrible idea!"

Any further complaints from Topher were silenced by the appearance of Ella, who walked out of the forest in a very gloomy fashion and with tears in her eyes, something that was completely surprising when it came to her. She was the cheerful one of the group after all. Sky seemed to also notice her sudden mood change, doing her best to make her feel better again.

"Ella what happened? Are you OK?"

"I'm fine. It's just that my heart is filled with sorrow."

Sugar snorted at the comment and started laughing loudly, earning herself pointed looks from everyone else even Chris. That sobered her up quickly, though a smile was still visible on her face. Melody knew that Sugar didn't particularly like Ella, but laughing at her was just plain cruel in her opinion.

"That was about something else."

"Oh I thought Dave like me, but it's you who captured his heart."

"He does like me. Yes! I mean sorry, and I'm sorry about my smile. Are you OK? Am I still smiling? I am so sorry."

Melody winced at Sky's lack of tact, but understood her happiness fully. She would be grinning too if Chris returned the feelings she was slowly developing for him, though she knew that it was just wishful thinking on her part. What would a handsome billionaire, and famous host want to do with a medical student who didn't even pass her exams yet, and was just here to earn some cash? She didn't have a lot of money, she wasn't pretty like the models she knew and she definitely wasn't famous. It would be a miracle if Chris looked at her in that way. Her miserable brooding was interrupted by Dave, who strolled into the clearing, a grin of his face and unaware of the turmoil he caused in Ella.

"Uh hey, I was, erm…"

"It's Ok. Hi."

"Today's challenge is called snack attack. This vending machine only takes gold coins. The first team to get their gold coin into the machine wins and get's something to eat."

"That sounds easy enough."

"I was hoping one of you would say something like that. Chef!"

Chef opened a small wooden box, from which he pulled two small and adorable monkeys. One was wearing a pink collar while the other had a blue one, no doubt to tell them apart. Melody just happened to stand by Chef at that very moment, and it seemed that the monkeys were fascinated by her. They both jumped onto her, the blue one clinging to her waist like a child, while the one in the pink collar sitting on her shoulders and playing with her hair. The sudden increase of weight almost cause her to stumble, but she managed to stop herself from falling. Chris gave her an amused look before turning back to the campers to finish explaining the challenge.

"I'm giving these coins to Alphonse and Betty here, who are now going to run away."

Chris tossed the two coins, each landing in the hands of a different monkey. Neither waited before bolting to the vast forest, with their prize surprising the campers. their sudden movement caused Melody to stumble again, only this time she didn't manage to keep her balance, falling backwards. Chris managed to catch her though before she hit the hard ground, and helped her up before turning back to the campers.

"The're getting away!"

"Let's go!"

"Stop! Nobody moves. The monkeys get a head start. Kinosewaks's monkey has a blue necklace, and Maskwak's monkey is in the pink one."

He stopped for a moment and stared at the vending machine, which was currently being embraced and licked by Sugar. Her face was pressed up right against the glass and they could hear the soft whispers of words to it.

"Sugar please step away from the vending machine. OK you can go after your monkeys right now."

Blowing the horn, Chris watched the campers run after their monkey, all but one that is. Sugar still remained at the vending machine, refusing to let go of it for even a second.

"I'm coming back for you with a rock."

"That monkey's not catching itself Sugar."

"Ohh"

She kicked the machine, and with no visible result stalked off, looking for the monkey with her team. When everyone was gone, Chris led her over to the two seats positioned in front of a TV, both watching how the campers would deal with the challenge. Straight away Max refused to listen to Jasmine anymore thinking he should be the leader, which was a big mistake in comparing the two in not only strength but also size. It ended up with Max getting a wedgie off a tree while Jasmine and the rest of the team ran off to complete the challenge. Max's pants fell down soon after he got down, however luckily for Melody, Chris saw it coming and managed to cover her eyes quickly enough to protect my mind from images that would no doubt scar her forever.

The situation with the other team was just as bad. Sugar seemed to have eaten the banana that the team was going to use as bait, and instead decided to go for the direct approach which consisted of her trying to jump on the monkey and squash it under her weight. Not surprisingly it ended with Sugar in the river, and the monkey up in a tree where it proceeded to eat the coin, making their situation all the more hopeless.

"You keep watching, I'm just going to sort something out."

Melody looked at him in surprise. He was the host after all. What could be so important that he didn't want to watch the campers fail utterly? Before she could argue with him though he was already gone, and besides unlike him she didn't want to miss anything. to her utter shame, she was starting to enjoy seeing the contestants get into trouble despite her medical views on the subject, not that she would ever admit it to anybody especially Chris. He would have a field day with that kind of information.

max decided to get revenge through making a giant net for jasmine and the others on his team, an idea no doubt coming from Scarlett. She seemed to be the one to come up with all the ideas recently including the one with the electric eel in a previous episode. he didn't have to bother since Jasmine had enough problems as it was. Her monkey lost its collar and sat with about twenty identical monkeys, making it almost impossible to figure out which one was the one with the coin. On the other hand, the other team was also having problems as their monkey was eaten by a bear, who then turned on the team and made their situation all the more hopeless. Melody was so absorbed in the drama, she didn't notice as Chris snuck back into the clearing, laughing as he almost gave her a heart attack.

"If that's how it ends for team Maskwak I don't think I could bear it."

He started laughing at his own joke, while Melody and Chef simply rolled their eyes at him. She felt sorry for Chef having to spend years putting up with those pathetic jokes, not being able to tell him the truth. Chris seemed to think that everybody found them funny.

"What too hilarious? Want to see how angry a bear can get? Me too, so stay tuned to Total Drama Pakhitew Island!"


	13. Chapter 13 - Temptation

The break didn't seem to do much good for either team, and only served to ruin their day more thoroughly. Max's rude behaviour towards the group of monkeys resulted in him being pelted in a brown substance he initially considered mud, though his fellow teammates quickly corrected him. His shriek was heard all the way at the clearing even without the various megaphones stationed around the island, courtesy of Chris McLean. He wasn't the only person to suffer the wrath of the island, as Dave's stupidity and desperation to prove himself as the perfect boyfriend caused him to approach the bear. A stupid move. The bear didn't eat him to Chris's disappointment however it did put him in a choke hold with its seemingly foul-smelling armpit, and liked him thoroughly in satisfaction. Melody doubted that anyone would want to go near him after an experience like that much less date him. Despite the low level threat to the teenager, she found her hand gripping Chris's tightly, terrified at the thought of someone getting hurt.

The situation only seemed to improve thanks to Scarlett who came up with an inventive and original method of figuring out which monkey had the coin, though the improvement of conditions weren't enough for Melody to release her death grip on Chris.

"Our best chance to find which monkey has the coin is by conducting a neuro scientific experiment. I mean it's no secret that there's hyperactivity in the motor neurons in primates right?"

Melody glanced at Chris in confusion, not quite sure what Scarlett was getting at, though it seemed that he was just as clueless as anyone else. She was never good at that field of science, one of the biggest reasons for choosing to become a doctor and not a scientist. Scarlett though seemed to thrive in complicated explanations of seemingly simple things, and expected the same level of intelligence that she possessed in her teammates. If that was the case then she was severely disappointed.

"We play monkey see, monkey doo?"

That got her exclamations of understanding, only causing her to become even more frustrated. Melody laughed at the situation, unaware of Chris's eyes watching her carefully, a gentle smile on his face. That only lasted a couple of seconds though before he snapped out of it and shook his head in disbelief. This wasn't him. Needing to clear his mind, he stood up, regretfully releasing the grip her small hand had on his. He wouldn't be able to think straight if he was around her.

"I'm going to get something to drink, you want something?"

"Aren't you going to watch the challenge?"

"Nah, I can watch it later, besides nothing too interesting is happening right now."

"I would like something to drink too then please. Just nothing with alcohol in it."

Nodding, Chris walked away towards their currently shared house. As soon as he was inside he leaned heavily on the closed door behind him. Did that woman not realise what she was doing to him? Had he sat there for any longer then he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from kissing those full lips, his thoughts were ruled by her smile. He regretted sleeping beside her that night. The memory of her hovering over him in an attempt to wake him up owned his thoughts, preventing him from concentrating on the challenge. For once though he was grateful for the producers forcing him to find a medic. This was going to turn out to be the most interesting Total Drama season yet.

The only problem now was that Topher kid, who seemed to be getting closer to her. Too close. If Chris was going to have any hope of winning Melody then he would have to get rid of that kid. With him gone, it was only a matter of time before she fell for his magnificent looks and his charming personality.

Unaware of Chris's inner struggles, Melody sat calmly on the leisure chairs provided and continued to watch the campers. Brief thoughts of Chris flew through her mind but she pushed them away. There was no point to think about him now. Her mind was already filled with his smiles and laughs and if she thought any more about it, she was sure her head would explode. So instead she concentrated on team Kinosewak which was finally putting their monkey plan into action. Jasmine came first, waving her arms in the air until all of the monkeys on the tree were copying her. Topher came next with a move he called the 'cool guy double point to the camera' which he probably invented himself. Then again it wasn't surprising that a guy who was so obsessed with looking good used a move to look good on camera. In fact if anything it should have been obvious to anyone who knew him. Scarlett came last with a suggestion to flip the coin. The entire team followed her, and so did the only monkey who had the coin. It looked frustrated when it realised what happened but it was too late. Jasmine picked up the coin and ran back towards the clearing, her team close behind. They were within sight when they were captured by a big net, preventing them from advancing further. Being the idiot he is, Max admitted to making the trap, even going as far as acting proud because of it. Melody was sure that if they lost, Max would be the one going home today.

Team Maskwak was still trying to get the bear to release Dave, seeing as it seemed to take a great liking to him and a great dislike to anyone else who tried to approach. In the end it took the entire team to convince Ella to sing to stop the bear and make it come along with them. They were already on their way back with a prancing bear behind them when Chris entered the clearing holding two tall glasses of lemonade, even going so far as to put little umbrellas on them. He handed her one and sat down, and uncomfortable silence settling between them. It was clear that Chris had something on his mind, but Melody was too relieved at the fact that he didn't see Ella sing to do anything about it. As it was, he was when he saw the bear prance in after the campers with no intention of devouring them. Who wouldn't be suspicious?

"Is this bear in a trance? how did you manage that?"

The entire team fumbled for some excuse so as to not reveal Ella's involvement, all except Sugar that is. She seemed more than happy to tell Chris the truth for once. It was lucky that Sky managed to come up with a solution before Sugar's attempts managed to get anywhere.

"Jigs up, we go a talent. Ella…"

"Hypnotised him. The point is we have the coin!"

"Right...you say that coin's inside the monkey which is inside this bear. That's the story you all agreed on?"

"It's the truth!"

"Enough said. I'm taking the bear by the horns."

Everyone watched in amazement as Sugar walked up to the bear while pulling up her sleeves, before grabbing him by the stomach and pulling strongly. The sudden pressure on his stomach surprised the bear and allowed Sugar to empty out a lot of things from him. First there was a Canadian registration plate and a shoe, which only presented everyone with more question, before he finally coughed up the monkey. It was soggy to the bone with saliva and casually reading a magazine as if it wasn't just swallowed and then choked out by a bear.

"Eww!"

"We got a winner. Alright monkey, you're next."

Melody winced as Sugar grabbed the monkey and stuffed her hand down it's throat looking for the coin. You could see the imprint of her hand inside stretching the stomach and shocking the poor monkey.

"Hold still Betty, you're only making it worse!"

At first all you could hear from team Maskwak were protests about the treatment of the monkey, that is until Jasmine sped into the clearing, her long legs allowing her to run very fast. Seeing the change in sides the team started egging Sugar on, desperately begging her to find that coin. She managed to find it eventually but by that time Jasmine managed to half the distance between her and the vending machine. the team only lost more time when Sugar decided to hand the slimy coin to Chris instead of rushing to the machine like she was supposed to.

"Don't spend it in one place."

"Eww, got to get it in the vending machine to win Sugar."

"Easy peasy."

She flipped the coin high in the air and watched as it soared past Jasmine and straight into the slot just seconds before the other team claimed victory. Team Kinosewak just stood there in shock as team Maskwak celebrated their victory, something that didn't happen very often. In the corner of her eye Melody noticed as the bear sucked betty back into his stomach and tiptoed away from the people in the clearing. It was pretty clear that she wouldn't be seeing that monkey any time soon.

"Whoah, game over. team Maskwak wins the challenge! Today's snack food is from our japanese "I'll fill ya". Here's Chef Hatchet's 'Total Drama Yum Yum Happy Go Time Candy Fish Tails'. OK Team Kinosewak it's time for your votes to determine who's going in the cannon, and tonight I need everyone at the elimination ceremony."

The campfire was already burning brightly by the time the votes were cast and the teams sat down. It was a bit cramped but they managed, with Melody, Chris and Chef standing a small distance away watching them carefully. Melody still hadn't figured out why both teams were here though a lot of suggestions were already considered. It was to early to merge the two teams and she didn't think that there was any reason for Chris to change the teams around which left her without a reasonable explanation.

"Team Kinosewak has voted. the following players are safe: Jasmine, Scarlett and Topher, and the person going home tonight is Max."

"What? Revenge! You shall regret ever having met me Chris McLane!"

"Little late for that."

"The pain I will inflict on you will…"

"But, Max is not going home tonight."

That sentence alone was enough to make the air fill with stunned silence. No one knew what to say though it was clear that some people were annoyed at the verdict, one red haired camper in particular. There was no reason for Chris to let max stay on this island, especially since no one liked him much.

"Ha fear got the better of you."

"It has come to my attention that a certain singer has sung her swan songs. Sorry Ella, I received an anonymous note. Actually it was an 'ugnanimous' note but whatever, you're going home."

"So long everyone, I enjoyed our time together. Don't be sad Sugar, be happy."

"OK, I'll try."

It was obvious to anyone that was paying attention that Sugar was not sad. In fact it was clear that she was failing at concealing a big grin, a fact that Ella seemed obvious to. The word 'ugnanimous' was proof enough that it was in fact Sugar who notified Chris, and although melody had an inkling suspicion that Ella was aware of that fact, the camper didn't show any reaction to the suspicion.

"At least now I am free to sing whenever I want which is always!"

"Huh? What the...I didn't OK a musical vet!"

Melody watched in amusement as Ella's goodbye turned out to be another song much to Chris's dismay. She did have a point though. She was already eliminated, so there was nothing more that Chris could do to her to stop her from singing, at least not on camera.

"My time on the show is finished and done but that's not to say that I didn't have foun! I'll do my best not to cry but now I have to say goodbye."

The scene became even more amusing when the animals from the island gathered around her, and even going as far as pestering Chris. The small deer started nudging him in the leg while three different coloured birds sat on his ever perfect hair to his horror. He seemed to be really starting to regret eliminating Ella.

"No, knock it off!"

"I came on Total Drama and I survived it just fine, with only minor damage to the base of my spine. I gave it my best try, now I have to say goodbye. I miss you all from tall to small, and even this little gnome."

"Hey!"

"So long my prince, you made my heat wince and now I'm heading home."

It was when Ella got to Dave that Chris finally had enough and looked pointedly at Chef. The laughter emitting from Melody also earned her a look, almost as if he figured out that she knew about Ella's singing. Chef approached her carefully as if caging an animal, before finally leaping towards her in an attempt to capture her. Unfortunately for him, the birds lifted her clear off the ground, causing him to miss her completely and fly off the cliff and into the freezing water below. If his face was anything to go by when he emerged, he wasn't too happy about the unexpected bath. Fortunately for him, the birds placed Ella in the cannon themselves, making any more chases after her completely unnecessary.

"I broke the rules and now I'm paying the price and soon will be launched from this cannon device. I'll do my best not to die because now I have to…"

She never managed to finish her song because Chris made sure to fire her away as soon as he got close to the button. As far as she knew, he was never this desperate to vote anyone else off.

"And that's enough of that. As tempting as it is to see how many kids I can stuff into the cannon, 8 remain. Who's next to show us their cannon due spirit? Find out next on Total Drama Pakhitew Island!"

That night was restless for melody. She tossed and turned, but no matter what she tried, she could not get into a position that would allow her to sleep. It was as if she was missing something. She knew well what it was but her determination forbade her to even think about him. Instead she counted sheep, drank herbal tea, and even watched a documentary about the living habits of wombats, all for nothing. It was around midnight that soft knock startled her.

"Come in."

The knocker turned out to be Chris, who looked as tired as she most likely did. There frown lines under his eyes and his hair wa disheveled, the first signs that he was a person like the rest of them and not the perfect model he pretended to be. She supposed that with people like Topher though, constantly trying to take over his job, he had no choice in the matter. He walked straight to the bed and got in, pushing her slightly towards the other side of the bed to make some room for himself.

"What are you doing?"

"Neither of us can sleep without the other so we might as well sleep together, besides we need to have our beauty sleep for tomorrow. Now be quiet and come here."

His arms wrapped tightly around her waist and brought her closer to his chest, spooning her to him. It was only moments before the breathing on her neck slowed, indicating that he fell asleep. She considered moving away but his warmth called to her and forced her to cuddle into him. Moments later, she too was asleep, not knowing the drama that was going to face her tomorrow.


	14. Chapter 14 - The fake Challenge

By the time Melody woke up, the side of the bed that Chris occupied was already empty and cold. She wasn't surprised or sad. He needed to prepare for the next challenge, besides it wasn't as if there was something in between them. In fact his absence gave her the much needed time to think things through. She couldn't deny the attraction and longing she felt for him, and though the fact that he came over yesterday signified that he felt the same, she just wasn't too sure. Suddenly her lack of knowledge in the dating field was starting to catch up with her.

Sighing, she stood up and got dressed before going downstairs. Chef was nowhere to be seen so it was only natural for her to summarise that he was helping Chris or preparing himself to torture the contestants more. It was a bit quiet and lonely, however on the bright side, she only had to make waffles for herself today and to the two men she currently lived with. God knows how much they could eat, especially in the morning. Fortunately for her, Chris's timing was impeccable and she easily managed to finish her meal before she heard his voice over the intercom.

"Calling all contestants, it's time to get rolling. Hahaha. Eh, that will make sense in a minute."

Today's contest was located at the far end of the island, near a deep crevice that she had never noticed before and she was sure that she had walked past this place a couple of times already during her midday strolls. The new discovery was certainly interesting, but it was quickly blown out of her mind at the sight of what Chris hinted about. Two big, metal spheres were parked at the edge of the cliff, one green and the other bright red. Walking over to the two leading men, she greeted them but only got a reply from one. Chef seemed as puzzled as she did at Chris's silence but neither of them wanted to question it now that the campers were gathering round the clearing. It would have to wait for later.

"Listen up everyone. Today's challenge is simple, simple and deadly. You'll all be racing across the island in these turbo orbs! Each team will cram into one turbo orb and roll like a hamster in a wheel. First team to the other side of the island wins immunity."

"Both team are sure to have a ball."

"Just get in the ball Topher."

"Hey watch the hair!"

"Stop pushing!"

"I'm not pushing I'm shoving."

Melody giggled at the failed pun, though quickly quieted down at Chris's glare. Topher was honestly becoming more and more like Chris and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad one. She was pretty sure that one was more than enough. They watched in silence as the teams entered their own respective balls one after another pushing and shoving until only Jasmine was left. She was standing quite a way back and almost at the point of shaking from terror. It was an unfamiliar feeling, watching someone as tough as Jasmine be afraid of something.

"Jasmine, hello. You're still on Australian time? I actually have no idea if that's ahead of us or behind us, but you get the joke."

"Ok, just going to get inside that small, cramped, confined ball, no way out. Let's do this!"

"That's the spirit!"

She sighed in determination, but didn't manage to make even one step towards the centre of her fear, instead opting to crouch down onto the floor and wrap her arms around herself. The tremors were visible all over her body now, and to Melody it would be clear that she wouldn't get near the ball willingly. She seemed to have a serious case of Claustrophobia, and since Chris didn't seem to be willing to help, it was all up to the medic.

"Hey Jasmine, are you ok?"  
"I'm OK. Just have a teeny issue with confined spaces, no biggie."

She stood up, determination covering up the fear in her eyes and actually managed to make a few steps this time. It didn't last long however and soon the tall Australian girl was back in the foetal position and slowly rocking herself back and forth. At this rate the day would end before they would manage to get her into one of those death traps. Chris was fully aware of that fact, however he didn't seem as inclined to help Jasmine. He instead chose a much different tactic.

"Aha, you know what else is a confined space? A cannon. Ok, bad cop didn't work, time for good cop."

Everyone watched as he approached Jasmine and knelt beside her, a calming smile on his face. He seemed truly concerned for her, which surprised Jasmine, drawing her attention from the big ball. To be honest, that smile looked a bit unnerving on his face, to Melody. She was just so used to seeing Chris either smirk or scowl, and never be pleasant to someone else.

"Jas, I didn't know you had this phobia. Now that I do I realise that this challenge is harder for you that anyone else and that's unfair."  
Anyone could see the hope budding on Jasmine's face. She almost started believing that Chris, the meanest host on the planet, would actually let her stay out of the challenge. Too bad it was just a hope. The moment Jasmine started to trust him, that infernal smirk appeared on Chris's face once again making everyone sigh in disappointment Chris would always be Chris, and whoever thought he would change any time soon was gravely mistaken.

"Chef, toss her in!"

In her shock, Jasmine didn't even manage to react before Chef grabbed her with both arms and literary tossed her in. Groans could be heard as she landed on her team mates, but they were soon muffled as Chef slammed the doors on both of the huge metallic orbs.

"Eh, we can't see out of these."

"Oh, no."

You could practically taste the sarcasm in Chris's voice. He wouldn't Allow Jasmine to avoid the challenge, so what made the campers think that he would care about whether they could see or not? The two muscled men stood behind the two orbs, Chef with the red ball while Chris was at the green one.

"You might feel a small drop. Ready, set GO!"

With that said, both men pushed their orbs, watching as they rolled a small distance down the hill and fell into the dark ravine that she had a bad feeling about from the start. Melody rushed to the ravine to check if the campers were still alive, but Chris grabbed her arm and twisted her back towards the waiting recliners and the usual TV. She struggled for a moment, but she had no chance of getting out of the firm grip he had on her arm. Finally giving in, she willingly walked to the TV and turned it on, sighing in relief when she caught sight of the campers. They seemed battered and bruised thoroughly, but at least they were alive which was more that she honestly expected. With an unfortunate series of events, Sky landed on Dave which he saw as an opportunity to make his move on her. That in itself wasn't so bad, however Sugar ruined the moment by bringing up her breakfast, apparently consisting of only blueberries. Melody wasn't as shocked as Dave, honestly she expected more campers to have the same reaction, but she too was definitely disgusted at Dave's new appearance. Sky managed to avoid the burst, and like the others, she was staying far away from the source and effect of it much to Dave's disappointment.

"Ha host fail! I'd like to see Chris narrate us out of this one."

Topher certainly didn't waste an opportunity to try and prove that he was the better host, much to Chris's annoyance. She was worried as to what would happen to the proud contestant if he continued to anger Chris like that. To her astonishment, Chris did nothing but smirk. Clicking a button, he revealed a TV next to the campers, his and Melody's image appearing on it. He gave Topher a brief glare as he became visible, but quickly turned to the rest of the contestants.

"What was that Topher? So your real challenge is getting out of the cave."

"Why bother with the bogus challenge?"

"If I had said I wanted to cram you into giant balls and drop you 140 feet into a caver, you would have all moaned and whined, this was easier. Moving on. There are two bags of supplies behind you"

Sky and Max both rushed towards the back of the cave towards the aforementioned bags, managing to snatch one each. Maxe's bag contained items such as night vision goggles, rope and various climbing accessories, and despite the obvious usefulness of the items he saw them as useless. That viewpoint was not shared by his teammates however as they cheered. Sky wasn't as lucky, as her bag contained kitty litter, a Beardo CD (something that Melody had no idea existed), and soy sauce packets, things that would be completely useless to her team in this challenge.

"One bag might be more helpful than the other. Now if you look around you'll see a bunch of all lead to a single exit on the surface where the finish line awaits, but some will get you there safer or faster than the others. First team across the finish line wins. One more thing, according to Cree legend no one who's gone in has, ever come out, but hey I thought the fall would kill you so congrats on surviving that. Your challenge starts now."

With that said, Chris blew his air horn, the sound traveling down and making the cavern shake. A couple of rocks dislodged throughout the sound, almost hitting some of the campers below. It was the last straw for Jasmine who finally openly panicked and ran towards one of the walls, banging on it with her fists and screaming for her freedom. Her attack caused more rocks to dislodge, and her team barely managed to calm her down slightly before she caused a cave in. The disaster was only prevented for a few moments though, as Sugar's voice rang out, turning out to be that last thing that the cave needed to collapse.

"It's a cave it!"

"My face, must save my face!"

It was obvious as to who was screaming about his face, the yells mixing in the cacophony of frightened voices. Some like Topher, ran blindly (covering his precious face) into the nearest tunnel, while others hesitated, trying to pick the best one. It ended up with Topher knocking Jasmine into one tunnel, Scarlett and Max running into another tunnel, while the entire team Maskwak ended up in the third. All in all, both the teams managed to save their lives though one team got divided, a fact that would most likely prove to be a disadvantage. Only when all of the campers were in the tunnels did Chris let got of her arm, motioning to the seats that were prepared for them. Chef had vanished for now, most likely rushing off to prepare dinner or more traps for campers. Either way the two were alone once again.

"Let's go sit down."

"I thought you weren't talking to me?"

"What no...I just…"

Melody stared at the host as he struggled to find his words, something so unusual to the confident him she usually saw. A slight pink colour dusted his cheeks, reflecting the sudden colour of her own face. She knew what he was going to talk about, and the thought alone had a reaction on her.

"Just what?"

"I was embarrassed after what I did yesterday ok! I didn't want you to be mad at me. You know how girls can get!"

"I'm not mad Chris, I honestly slept better with you there, so you don't have to worry about it."

Realising what she said, Melody turned away and walked quickly towards the seats, praying that Chris didn't notice the now vibrant pink that coloured her face. It was strange admitting that fact, but she had learnt long ago that lying in the face of your crush only led to bad consequences. Besides, he must have felt something for her too, he wouldn't have come to her yesterday if he didn't would he? She shook away those thoughts as Chris sat next to her. Neither of the breech the subject again, deciding to focus instead on watching the campers attempts to survive the many dangers ahead of them. Dave attempted his kiss with Sky one more time, though it ended with him kissing a bat unfortunately. Chris seemed to find this especially funny, though he still refused to look at her. His team may not have had torches like the other team, but their problem was quickly solved by a cave filled with what looked like glowing slugs. Melody wouldn't put it past Chris to make them radioactive. That didn't stop Sugar though, who proceeded to eat several much to everyone's disgust. They didn't have much of a negative effect on her, though it was the same girl that ate a live tarantula so Melody wasn't too surprised about that fact.

Max and Scarlett however unfortunately hit a danger cave straight off the bat. It was a cave filled with very sharp stalactites hanging from the ceiling, ready to skewer anyone that passed underneath them. Even the slightest noise could cause them to crumble down, so even Chris had to whisper when explaining the challenge.

"Welcome to the spike zone. Try and stay quiet or all of those stalactites will rain down and skewer you like kebabs. Hahaha"

"Thank You for that warning. You are now in my favour. We shall tiptoe through slowly and…"

"Eh, tiptoeing is boring to watch so...here's a crocodile. Remember your entire team has to cross the finish line, so no leaving behind legs or heads, OK?"

Chris pressed the button and a crocodile appeared in the room with the two contestants. Scarlett backed away like a normal person would, although Max seemed to have other ideas. He walked towards the wild animal, convinced that he could train him as an evil pet. To be honest, Melody had no idea where Chris managed to find this guy, but at the same time, she had an idea that Chris himself picked him. After all, what is Total Drama Island without a little crazy?

Max's plan backfired as the crocodile bit him in the backside instead of listening to him, causing Max to scream, knocking down all of the stalactites. The ceiling of the cave quickly followed, knocking down the TV and making the two observers lose all contact with the two unlucky contestants. Worry was etched onto Melody's face, though Chris didn't seem scared or bothered at all.

"Oh, it was just getting good, eh. Stay tuned to find out who gets buried and who comes out on top here on Total Drama Pakhitew Island."


	15. Chapter 15 - The almost kiss

"Jasmine presses on as the cave gets deeper, darker, narrower, the faintest sound could cause a cave in that would surely break every bone in…"

"Do you mind?"

"Do you? Someone has to host in Chris's absence."

It seemed that Jasmine didn't appreciate the fact that Topher was practicing his host skills, and Melody supposed that it didn't do much to help her with her claustrophobia. When it came to character, Topher could be just as heartless as Chris sometimes, and it really made her question their friendship sometimes. Then again she was somewhat romantically involved with Chris himself so she really couldn't complain. Fortunately for Jasmine, Chris seemed to have enough of Topher's attempts and interrupted him personally. He appeared on the nearest TV screen just as the pair reached a crevice. Dark mist was covering the hole, preventing either the campers or the spectators to see what was at the bottom, and Chris took full advantage of it.

"You've just reached the leap of faith. Even with the night vision goggles you can't see the bottom, you've got to have faith and jump in. It leads to the way out or sharks, I honestly can't remember. Either way you can't go back the way you came. Good luck."

With that said, Chris turned off the Tv and pressed another button, exploding the entrance to the cave and trapping the pair in. The only way out now was through was to jump down the smaller crevice which was exactly what Chris wanted them to do. The pair ended up standing at the edge and taking off their night vision goggles, knowing full well that they weren't going in to come in useful in this situation.

"Man it's like a bottomless black hole to nowhere. Want to go first?"

That was clearly the wrong thing to say judging from Jasmine's reaction. The terrified girl grabbed a hold of Topher, holding him in a hug, though it seemed more like a choke hold. It seemed that in her state she forgot how strong she was and Topher's air supply was quickly dwindling. They could see his face slowly turning a bright red colour, which could not have been healthy for him. It was very amusing to Chris, though he quickly stopped chuckling when he felt a jab in his side. He wanted to win that woman over, and laughing at her friends would not help, no matter how annoying they might have been.

"Topher no, there needs to be another way!"

"Jas...can't...breath...about to pass out."

"Topher, no!"

He went limp in her arms from the lack of oxygen, causing her to stumble back in shock and fall down the crevice. The scary hole turned out to be not so deep, and despite Chris's warning, there was no sharks to be seen. In fact if Jasmine stood up, her head would be where their feet were only moments ago. To Melody, it was simply one big anticlimax.

"Hey did you know, it wasn't super deep."

"Didn't, please let go."

While Topher was slowly filling his lungs, team Maskwak had reached their first cave. It was filled with rubies growing from every surface, in varying sizes and shapes. Melody gasped in amazement, her eyes fixed onto the shimmering rocks. Chris looked at her in surprise. That was the first time he had seen that expression on her face. It did give him an idea on how to help his case in winning her over though. He shook the thought off for now, instead turning back to the TV to talk to the newcomers.

"Welcome to the gem cave. this ruby ravine is home to a bear, but not just any bear. The bling bear."

"Bling bear?"

"Trust me you don't want make him mad. Just walk through here without stealing a gem and you'll be ok."

"Fine whatever, let's just go…"

Before Dave even managed to finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a loud roar echoing in the cave. The team looked at each other before their eyes were drawn to a wall being knocked down. From the dust emerged scuba bear, wearing enough gold necklaces to satisfy any rapper and angrier looking than ever.

"And you fail, wow that was fast."

"Wait, that's just skuba bear with…"

"RUN!"

They ran out of the view of the camera, leaving the two to stare at an empty cave. Flipping through the cameras, they discovered that none of the cameras were seeing the campers, and that currently everyone was lost underground. It seemed like Chris only predicted one rout for the campers to follow, and none of them was following it for some reason.

"Come on let's go to the finish line, they should be exiting any moment now."

The three relocated a bit further south, where the entrance to a yawning cave was visible. In front of it stood the finish line and it was next to it that Chris decided to sit down again. They were there for another half an hour and Chris started to get worried at the lack of campers visible.

"Yep, I have lost the kids. Better grab our getaway bags and fake passports 'Hector'."

Melody looked at him in slight suspicion, but before he could explain as to why he and Chef had second identities, he was interrupted by Jasmine bursting from the ground below them, wielding Topher like a giant mace, looking completely crazed. She threw him down on the ground before clambering out of the hole. Judging by the bumps on Topher's head, Melody gathered that she used him to dig up, ending up right behind the finish line.

"Did we win?"

"No that's not the right exit!"

"Not the worst one either."

The voice came from a soaking team Maskwak, who were surrounded by a suspiciously smelling foul odor. Melody and Chris edged away from them, while Chris opted out for a gas mask.

"Eugh, what's that stench?"

"We came up through the…"

The state of their clothing and the stench was enough to provide Melody with all of the details. It only reinforced her suspicions when Dave became unable to carry on explaining, because of his panicked thoughts about never being clean again. They must have emerged out of the bathroom aka. the never cleaned shack. The last to appear were Max and Scarlett who didn't seem to be even slightly ruffled from their ordeals in the cave.

"How did we not win? They must have found a faster elevator."

"Elevator! Look none of you won. I said the first team across the finish line and none of you did. You skipped dozens of awesome challenges. We don't even have enough footage for an episode. You're all disqualified, this whole episode is a bust!"

"No elimination!"

"Oh no no no no no, there will be an elimination. Haha."

Chris's words sounded particularly foreboding but she didn't have time to think about. She was the medic and she had to deal with today's injuries including a bitemark, plenty of scrapes and Topher's beaten up head. From his descriptions, it seemed that Jasmine used him not only to dig the hole but also to battle giant moles, that Chris didn't warn them about. Melody took her time with Topher's wounds, wanting to listen more about his stories. He was her friend after all. She was so engrossed in laughing that she didn't even notice when his face drew closer to hers, no trace of laughter left in his eyes. Melody was unsure what to do, silently panicking as he drew closer, only to sigh in relief when a sudden noise came from the open doorway of the medical tent. They both looked towards the source of the sudden noise but saw nothing in the darkness. While she may not have seen anything, the sound gave Melody an excuse to quickly finish their conversation and head towards the elimination area. Topher looked disappointed while she could only be relieved. He was a nice guy, but he was just not her type, and imitating Chris didn't help much in that aspect.

When they got there everyone was already seated and wearing worried expressions, except Chris who was standing. He too seemed worried, however that was mostly covered by the fury that was etched onto his face. He tensed when he saw Topher, sending him a nasty glare, while avoiding all eye contact with Melody. She supposed that it must have been about the failed challenge, however she couldn't help but have an uneasy feeling about this situation. Chris started his speech just as everyone gathered in the area.

"As you can see I had a special reward planned. Darwin's all you can eat food safari."

Everyone's gazes followed his finger and there was indeed a table full of food. Chef pulled the cloth covering it, revealing assortments of various meats from sausages to stakes of varying sizes. Melody supposed that for someone who spent the past couple of weeks eating only fruit and whatever else they could find in the forest, this may as well have been heaven.

"Tonight's elimination will be... this dinner. Chef..."

To the despair of the campers, Chef set the food alight after covering it with pure gasoline. The flame was tremendous and even Chef ended up being slightly burned simply because he stood too close to it. What remained of the dinner was simply a small pile of ash and soot.

"Now, I have a serious matter to discuss. It's become obvious that a certain couple is well on their way to smooch city. I think we all know who i'm talking about."

It was clear to everyone how Dave and Sky sent each other worried looks, after all they may not have been together yet but they were both clearly attracted to each other. What worried Melody however was the fact that Chris glanced at her as he said those words. Could he have seen Topher trying to kiss her and misinterpreted it? The couple in question however were the last people anyone else would have chosen.

"This kind of lip locked alliance in unfair to the other team members. It's also kind of awkward, so I've decided to split them up. WIthout further adieu, I'm breaking up Max and Scarlett."

"We, him, me, no but…"

"Max join team Maskwak."

"I'd say it's been a pleasure but we all know the truth, you're inferior."

"Oh and just so the teams aren't lopsided hm, Sky you're now on team Kinosewak."

Melody looked at him is shock and anger, getting more frustrated at the evil smirk that was now on his face. He knew well that she wanted Dave and Sky to get together despite their differences, after all they started talking to each other a lot when alone in the mansion on free days. They must have been what he was aiming for, while Scarlett and Max were simply a distraction. She was completely sure now that he saw Topher and her and was getting revenge, it just seemed like something he would do. She almost gave in to the urge to walk up to him and punch him, but withheld it. If he wanted to make assumptions then it was his right to do so, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

Her cold shoulder continued through their walk home, with him returning it. There wasn't any banter or laughter or even good night's, only silence. Both parties were stewing frustration and anger, and neither party was ready to let go just yet. They walked to their separate rooms and stayed there. That night, Melody slept alone.


	16. Chapter 16 - Raining Babies

The next morning, there was no sign of Chris not even a note, leaving her alone in the oversized mansion once again. It didn't bother her too much however as in her point of view, being alone was better than having to sit in an awkward silence with Chris which would no doubt happen sooner or later. She wasn't ready to forgive him for using what she told him about herself to spite her, and she doubted that he would just stop making assumptions about what happened either. In fact she was starting to consider leaving the show. Melody was just the type of person to avoid anything awkward instead of confronting it, even if it meant leaving. Her biggest reason for staying this long was due to the fact that she was attracted to Chris, he had even started to show some attraction to her as well. However, she wasn't sure whether she wanted to be with someone who was ready to spite her and make assumptions about something that didn't happen. If this was what he was like now, she feared how he would behave if they were together, not that there was a lot of hope for that now anyway. In the end she decided to see what today would bring and make her decision from there. Chris always did seem to surprise her after all.

"Attention my soon to be victims. Your fate awaits at the grand clearing. Last one eats a rotten egg."

Melody had half the mind to simply walk at a leisurely pace, but knowing Chris and his currently angry mood at her, she didn't doubt that he would make her eat the egg despite the fact that she wasn't a contestant. So instead she jogged towards the clearing, making it just before the contestants started to run in. Topher was the last to get in, his hand covering his nose for some strange reason, though much to Chris's glee.

"And Topher arrives last so he gets to eat the rotten egg."

"Aw man, for real?"

"Lucky for you, it's already in Sugar's stomach."

Sugar's stomach rumbled in response causing her to burp loudly at Jasmine. The Amazon managed to wave the stench away although it landed on the unfortunate Dave who promptly collapsed due to the almost certainly toxic fumes. Melody came up to both injured boys, checking Dave's head and Topher's nose, all the time feeling Chris's eyes digging holes in her back.

Chris knew that he was probably making the situation worse but he couldn't help to glare as Melody tended to Topher. He witnessed the almost kiss yesterday and though it didn't happen, he was sure that Topher would have gotten his way if he wasn't there to interrupt them. He won this round, since despite the numerous flirts melody and Chris shared, he never directly implied his attraction to her, something Topher did very differently. the boy beat him to it and he had no doubt that he would try the same trick again. It certainly didn't help that Melody was mad at him for splitting up Sky and Dave yesterday. He was just so frustrated and needed to get his anger out somehow. The only way he could get the upper hand now was to make sure that Topher was eliminated this round, and there was more than enough ways to make that happen.

"Listen up camper. Today's challenge is called hush or die. The teams have to race through three separate and unique danger zones The 3 zones have one thing in common though. The noisier you are, the greater the danger becomes. Area 1 is called the lion's lunch. You've got to sneak through a field full of sleeping lions, wake one up and you're lunch."

"But there sleeping so…"

"Oh and there are rattlesnakes too."

"Oh, that's bad."

"Erm, a rattlesnake's poison is kind of deadly…"

"The venom in our snakes has been slightly deluded do you'll only feel you're going to die. If you make it out of that zone alive, maybe you'll die in area 2. The Pasta Blasta! Make a noise in zone 2 and blindfolded Chef will blast you with pasta."

"Ha, the pasta won't do anything to hurt us!"

"True unless the burning hot noodles cause you to scream and wake up the carnivorous pasta bear, forcing your team to untangle you before you're eaten alive."

"Well, yeah. that could kill you."

"The last phase of the challenge is crossing the avalanche zone."

"You kind of ran out of creative steam coming up with a name for that one, huh. Old age will do that to you?"

"Chef give me a shot 10 o'clock, 73 degrees high please."

Chris watched in amusement as Topher was hit with burning hot pasta that pinned him firmly to the ground. His grin faltered however as Melody rushed towards Topher while giving the host a glare. Why couldn't she see what a tool Topher was? The kid was really starting to get on his nerves. He insinuated Chris's age something that may have put Melody off, insulted him frequently and was getting in the way of their potential relationship. No matter what way he looked at it, Topher was getting voted off tonight no matter what it took.

"Ow not the hair...eh I mean, these little games might be challenging for old people but not us. You really need to start thinking younger Chris."

"Hm, Topher makes a good point. You're all so young and agile. I should step it up, so now everyone will have to carry a special something through the entire challenge. It will make it way harder. Everyone say thanks Topher."

"Thanks Topher…"

"Ok, release the babies."

Everyone looked up, not yet understanding, at the hot air balloon that appeared above them with two interns. It took a minute for the campers and Melody to realise that was she took as weights tied to the bottom of the basket were in fact sleeping babies. The interns ignored the gasps of shock and dropped them one by one, as the campers rushed to grab them. Each camper managed to grab a baby and save it, with Scarlett getting one wrapped in a purple blanket, Sky a light blue one, Jasmine a pink one, Topher a lilac one, Sugar a green one, Shawn a yellow one, Max a blue one, and Dave getting another pink one, though in a different shade. To her surprise however, Melody also managed to catch a baby, one in a white blanket, leaving her in the conclusion that the interns must have miscounted the campers. Her motherly instincts activated, and she brought the baby boy closer to her chest, all the time wondering what kind of parents would allow this to happen to their child. They either just didn't care or were simply complete idiots.

"And go."

Chris whispered and blew the horn lightly so as not to wake up the sleeping children from their dreams. He followed Melody to their seats, all the while staring at the way she was holding the child. He could really imagine her being a great mother now that he thought about it. Melody let herself be pulled into the fantasy, being more than willing to pretend that the child was hers. She always wanted a big family and this just reinforced the dream. She grinned slightly when the boy yawned and opened his chocolate eyes. Her fingers tickled his stomach lightly, earning a laugh from him. His small fingers latched onto one of hers, swinging it around in enthusiasm and happiness. It was clear to Chris that she absolutely adored kids, and that she was skilled with them too.

They watched together as Dave stepped on a bone in the lion pit, snapping it and making a snake rattle. That almost woke up a lion, but fortunately he went back to sleep without realising that potential lunch was right in front of him. Team Kinosewak on the other hand, already managed to pass half way through the first area. Jasmine threw a rock back the way they came hitting a snake that attached itself to Dave's backside. It was quite amusing as he ran in circles, desperately trying not to scream. Sky feeling pity for him ran back and pulled it off, while Jasmine was puzzled over the disappearance of a tree. I would have asked Chris about it but it seemed like we were still not talking. This was really much more stressful now that there were babies involved as well. What kind of host much less human being would put them in such danger?

Max seemed to be the worst at this challenge. First he tried to mind meld with a snake which would have ended badly if not for Sugar, and then he tripped over another lion, waking it up. Team Kinosewak was in an equally big trouble because of Topher though. His phone rang waking up a lion right in front of them and it looked hungry.

"Yes a text! Aw."

"This is not good."

"You got that right...and I'll put this phone on vibrate."

"Will team Kinosewak be eliminated from the challenge and existence right now? Or will they somehow escape the kings of the jungle? And hey, what's Topher doing with a cell phone? We're all going to find out soon here on Total Drama Pakhitew Island!"


End file.
